Prasa’s former head of engineering was sentenced to 15 years of direct imprisonment on three counts of fraud, Cape {town} Etc reports.
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Daniel Mthimkhulu was promoted to the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa’s (Prasa) position of head engineer on 1 April 2010.
The position required (at minimum) an engineering diploma or degree.
Mthimkhulu’s CV stated that he held a national diploma in mechanical engineering from the Vaal University of Technology, a ‘degree in mechanical and maintenance engineering’ from the University of the Witwatersrand and a doctorate in engineering management from the Technical University of Munich in Germany.
However – in reality – he only had a matric certificate.
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Mthimkhulu stayed in this position for 63 months, earning an additional R7 072 281.04 over that period – equating to a gross salary of R112 258.43 per month.
In September 2010, he gave Prasa’s then-CEO Lucky Montana a fraudulent letter that offered him a position as an engineering services specialist at the German company DB Schenker.
According to the letter, Mthimkhulu was promised an annual salary of €200 000 (R2 800 000) at the time. To keep him at the company, Prasa matched this offer by nearly doubling his previous annual salary of R 1 650 000.
Four years ago, Mthimkhulu told eNCA that he had lied about his qualifications. ‘I admit that I do not have a PhD, and I failed to correct the perception that I have it. I just became comfortable with the title. I did not foresee any damages as a result of this,’ he said at the time.
Daily Maverick reported that in January 2022, Mthimkhulu was charged with nine counts of fraud for misrepresenting his qualifications to Prasa.
Because of this misrepresentation, the rail agency faced problems, including an unjustified increase in Mthimkhulu’s annual salary from R1.6 million to R2.8 million as the executive manager of engineering services.
In March this year, the Asset Forfeiture Unit pounced on Mthimkhulu with an order to seize his assets to recoup more than R5.5 million from this fraudulently obtained salary increase.
On Tuesday, Mthimkhulu was sentenced to 15 years of direct imprisonment on three counts of fraud in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.
Senior State Advocate Sithembiso Bhengu said that Mthimkhulu’s actions hurt ordinary South Africans who missed out on benefits they could have received from the money he fraudulently took from Prasa.
He added that his behaviour also seriously damaged Prasa’s reputation. ‘The court took into account the seriousness and prevalence of fraud, the significant financial loss to Prasa and Mthimkhulu’s betrayal of his employer’s trust,’ said Phindi Mjonondwane, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority.
‘His false qualifications and the direct impact on Prasa, as well as the large amount involved, were also considered.’
He was remanded in custody and his legal team plans to apply for leave to appeal the judgement.
‘This sentence sends a clear message to would-be fraudsters that falsifying qualifications is not a victimless crime and will not be tolerated. Mthimkhulu’s involvement placed Prasa’s projects under considerable risk and exposed the entity to liability it could not have foreseen,’ said Acting Cosatu spokesperson Zanele Sabela.
‘Workers have paid a price for the costs of this fraudster’s appointment. As head of engineering, Mthimkhulu was involved in massive capital projects at Prasa.’
‘He was found to be central to the procurement of trains too tall for South African train stations and lines. The costs to address this by raising platforms will be massive and borne by taxpayers.’
‘The resulting delays in rolling out the new trains are paid for by workers and the economy, [which is] in desperate need of an efficient and affordable commuter rail network.’
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Picture: Beeld / Deaan Vivier / Gallo Images
