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The Hawks swooped in on Prasa’s headquarters in Braamfontein.
Picture: Moneyweb
The Chairperson of the Select Committee on Public Infrastructure and Minister in the Presidency, Rikus Badenhorst, has welcomed the recent developments by the Hawks investigation of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa.
The Hawks swooped in on Prasa’s headquarters in Braamfontein on Wednesday afternoon, seizing laptops, mobile phones and a trove of documents of the rail agency’s top executives and other employees.
Investigation
They are investigating allegations of corruption in connection with two R18 billion tenders for train signalling equipment.
Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Thandi Mabombo said: “An operation was conducted as part of an ongoing investigation. To protect the integrity of our investigation, we cannot disclose details about that operation.”
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The Citizen has contacted Prasa for comment. This will be included in the story once received.
‘Transparency’
Chairperson of the Select Committee on Public Infrastructure and Minister in the Presidency, Rikus Badenhorst, said the allegations against the Prasa executives are concerning.
“This highlights a need for transparency and accountability within Prasa. The committee will monitor the developments at Prasa as it is important for the investigation to come to expose the alleged corruption within the entity.
“In a committee engagement on 9 July 2025, we drew attention to the company that had recently been awarded the signalling contract, which was also reportedly responsible for the demolition of Parliament. The committee expressed its concern about the company’s repeated involvement in large-scale projects,” Badenhorst said.
Report back
Badenhorst called on the Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, to report back to the committee once investigations into the matter were complete, as the outcome was crucial to resolving one of the key obstacles hindering Prasa’s progress on signalling.
He said the committee will continue to provide oversight to ensure responsibility, adding that the “public funds are used correctly because the country faces challenges within the fiscus.”
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