If Prasa’s Mtimkulu has qualifications, he could easily prove them

13 July 2015

Rumours that Mr Daniel Mtimkulu, Head of Engineering Services at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), does not have the qualifications he claims must be disproved if they are not true.

I have today written to the Transport Committee Chairperson, Ms Dikeledi Magadzi, to request that she summon Prasa and Mr Mtimkulu to appear before the Committee to present the requisite qualifications and proof of the HR processes used to vet these qualifications.

It is an easy thing to produce the proof of his qualifications, if he does in fact have them. 

Should he fail to do so, Mr Mtimkulu must be immediately suspended pending a full Parliamentary Inquiry. 

Mr Mtimkulu claims to have obtained an engineering degree from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) before studying in Germany to get his doctorate. As yet Wits has not been able to find any record of Mr Mtimkulu studying at the University.

Mr Mtimkulu was introduced as the designer of the Afro 4000 locomotives at a recent press conference held by Prasa after reports surfaced that R600 million worth of trains had been ordered that are allegedly unsuitable for the current South African train track infrastructure, and cannot fit under a number of bridges on South Africa’s tracks.

It is vitally important for the effective running of our transport infrastructure, and in this case of our railroads, that those appointed in the public service have the requisite qualifications and expertise so that they are equipped to do the best job possible. 

The DA believes in a public service that is occupied and run by those with the skills and experience to do so.

Statement issued by Manny de Freitas MP, DA Shadow Minister of Transport, July 13 2015