Former Transport minister suspended for Prasa failings

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Former transport minister Dipuo Peters’ urgent application to stop Parliament from implementing her suspension was dismissed by the Western Cape High Court on Monday.

Peters whose application was dismissed with costs will be placed on suspension commencing Tuesday, January 30, with the suspension expected to last until March 28.

In October 2023, after considering a complaint lodged against her, the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests found that Peters had breached the Code of Ethical Conduct in her former portfolio as Minister of Transport. As a result, she was sanctioned and suspended for one term.

Unite Behind leader and activist, Zackie Achmat lodged the complaint with several allegations, including that Peters “was neglectful in her previous portfolio as minister of transport by failing to appoint a Group CEO of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA)”.

Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said the complaint also alleged that the member dismissed the Molefe Board, seemingly because it had uncovered R14 billion in irregular expenditure and instituted investigations into corruption at PRASA.

“It was also alleged that she used PRASA busses for ANC events during 2014 and 2015 without ensuring payment from the ANC, among others.

“Following deliberations, the ethics committee found that the member’s failure to appoint a Group CEO breached items of the code in that she failed to act on all occasions in accordance with the public trust placed in her.

“This resulted in a financial loss of R1 767 000 after the PRASA Board had commissioned a recruitment process.

“The committee advised the National Assembly that for each of the three violations identified, the member should be barred from participating in all parliamentary debates and sessions,” he explained.

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Mothapo said they concur with the finding that there was no valid justification for the application to be heard on an urgent basis as the member was cognisant of the committee’s conclusions and the penalties it proposed on 26 October 2023, which she acknowledged receiving.

He added; “Her intent to contest the committee’s conclusions, expressed on November 28, also confirms this awareness.

“We appreciate the court’s sentiments regarding the importance of allowing parliament, as an arm of state, to regulate its business without interference from other arms of the state.”