• The officials were implicated in a 2015 report by the Public Protector
• Prasa says the dismissals are part of a clean-up led by the agency's administrator
• Names of fired managers were not revealed

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has fired four senior managers who were implicated in an explosive 2015 report by then-Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, which detailed procurement irregularities at the troubled state-owned entity.

In a statement on Monday, Prasa said the officials, who had been employed in the Protection Services department, were dismissed after they were found guilty by a disciplinary inquiry,  following allegations of impropriety in the awarding of security-related tenders.

"The irregularities in respect of the procurement of security services date back to 2009," said Prasa.

In 2015, the  titled 'Derailed', detailed a litany of improper financial conduct in the awarding of contracts under the tenure of former CEO Lucky Montana, including the irregular extension of a tender worth R256 million to Siemens and a R3.7 million contract to Sidas Security to install communications systems, without following due process.

Prasa hailed the conclusion of the disciplinary action as a culmination of a "clean-up" process which got underway after the agency was placed under administration. The names of the four managers were not revealed. An outcome of a disciplinary inquiry on Friday ruled that they should be dismissed.

Bongisizwe Mpondo was in December 2019 appointed Prasa administrator, as part of a process to turn around the agency, which has been crippled by allegations of corruption and leadership challenges.

The United National Transport Union (UNTU) welcomed the dismissals, saying that addressing "some of the serious findings made against several officials implicated in the Public Protector's report" was a step in the right direction for Prasa.

The union's General Secretary Steve Harris, urged the rail agency to act against those who were found to have committed irregularities. In March, Prasa suspended 12 senior officials pending a probe into various allegations of gross misconduct.