16 February 2024

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) welcomes President Cyril Ramaphosa’s appointment of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) to pursue corruption at the Passenger Rail Authority of South Africa (PRASA) and the Department of Home Affairs. 

The SIU has been tasked to investigate allegations of selling of identity documents, passports and other civic services at Home Affairs as well as the 3 000 reported ghost posts, the notorious Swifambo locomotives that were too tall for South Africa’s passenger railway network and dubious security tenders at PRASA.

Whilst COSATU applauds any measures by government to ramp up the fight against corruption and state capture that have brought PRASA to its knees and seen various countries impose visa requirements upon South African citizens due to the sale of passports; we are amazed that the SIU is only being asked now to expand its current investigations to include these serious criminal offences.

It is critical that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) be roped in by the SIU to ensure that it is ready to prosecute those implicated.  We cannot afford to continue producing dossiers on who has stolen what but fail to see the guilty tried, convicted and sentenced. 

COSATU hopes the Minister of Finance will include in the 2024/25 Budget due to be tabled at Parliament the additional resources the NPA, South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Courts require to fill critical vacancies and turn the tide in the war against crime and corruption. 

Treasury dare not table another Budget that proposes to cut posts at the SAPS and leave prosecuting posts vacant once again.

Issued by COSATU 

For further information please contact:
Matthew Parks
Acting National Spokesperson & Parliamentary Coordinator
Cell: 082 785 0687