PRASA terminates Matthews’ contract, sticks with Emeran as CEO
The board of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has terminated Zolani Matthews’ employment with immediate effect.
PRASA fired Matthews as CEO in 2021 for failing to disclose that he held dual South African-UK citizenship, which would have disqualified him from obtaining the necessary security clearance.
Matthews challenged his dismissal, with an arbitration process finding that he must be reinstated.
The Labour Court subsequently in July dismissed PRASA’s bid to set aside this ruling.
PRASA board chairperson Nosizwe Nokwe-Macamo says the board intended to reach an amicable agreement with Matthews, but all attempts to do so failed, leaving PRASA with no choice but to terminate his contract.
“In compliance with the Labour Court judgment of 1 July 2024, PRASA reinstated Mr Matthews and paid to him the backdated remuneration as contemplated in the ruling.
“PRASA then engaged with Mr Matthews and his legal team to discuss the implications of the judgment and to find a settlement.
“However, given that attempts to reach an agreement have failed, a settlement is no longer an option.”
This led PRASA to terminate Matthews’ fixed-term contract under Clause 11.2 of his contract.
Matthews will be paid out for the remainder of his contract, “thereby bringing certainty regarding the leadership of PRASA”, notes Nokwe-Macamo.
“We would like to reassure our passengers and stakeholders that PRASA is firmly focused on delivering on the expectations of our shareholder, the government of South Africa, and the public,” she adds.
“We have a passionate and professional board which has been steering PRASA through difficult times.
“We also have a strong management team led by group CEO Hishaam Emeran and, as the board, we have every confidence in their ability to achieve the strategic objectives of PRASA and manage the current challenges.”
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation