How governance failures messed up SA’s passenger rail agency
The Conversation’s Sibonelo Radebe speaks to Owen Skae of Rhodes Business School about what happens when shareholders undermine an organisation’s board
The Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) is going through serious turbulence that’s symptomatic of broad corporate governance failures within the country’s state-owned enterprises (SOE). Its acting CEO was recently fired by the board following allegations that he raised his remuneration by more than 350%. Shortly afterwards, the minister of transport dissolved the board. The Conversation Africa’s business and economy editor, Sibonelo Radebe, asked Rhodes Business School professor Owen Skae to explain the causes. SIBONELO RADEBE: What went wrong in the governance of Prasa? OWEN SKAE: This is just another example of the shareholder undermining the board, something that’s becoming an all too common dynamic within SA’s SOEs. The trend can be seen in the frequent chopping and changing of SOE boards over the past few years. Names that come to mind are South African Airways, Airports Company of SA, and arms manufacturer Denel. At best, this leads to toothless boards, which may be trying to ...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.