This article is the first in a series of articles on corruption in PRASA's dealings with a front company called
In 2012, a deal was struck that contributed to the near collapse of the
Swifambo, a front company set up shortly before the deal, partnered with Vossloh España -- the Spanish subsidiary of Swiss railway stock manufacturing firm Stadler -- to supply the locomotives. Stadler acquired Vossloh España in 2016 from German headquartered rail technology company,
In 2018, the
Vossloh made R1.8-billion from a dodgy deal and has not paid back a cent
The locomotives supplied by Vossloh, known as the Afro4000, were meant to improve long distance passenger services between South African cities, but were revealed to be too tall for South African railways. Yet PRASA ended up paying Swifambo R2.7-billion for the trains.
Swifambo went into voluntary liquidation in 2018. The trains are now being auctioned by Swifambo's liquidators,
Vossloh received R1.8-billion of the R2.7-billion Swifambo was paid by PRASA. According to the draft report of a 2017 investigation by forensic auditor
Yet Vossloh has not paid back a single cent.
Vossloh's records show just how profitable the corruption at PRASA was for its European business. Before the locomotive contract, Vossloh had already scored a major cash injection from PRASA, when Its German subsidiary, Vossloh Kiepe, shipped 272 air conditioning units to PRASA in 2012 worth E80-million in a deal where there were "significant irregularities", according to Sacks's draft report.
That same year, Vossloh opened its South African headquarters,
The deal was set up to benefit a few at the expense of PRASA and South African commuters.
Between 2011 and 2015, Vossloh made ten payments totalling R88.9-million to companies owned by Makhensa Mabunda, a well-connected businessman who is believed to have set up the Swifambo/Vossloh deal with PRASA.
The payments to Mabunda were flagged as suspicious in a report by the
News24 first revealed the payments made by Vossloh to Mabunda in 2018, and Open Secrets referred to them in an article in its Unaccountable series on Vossloh in 2021. After the News24 story was published,
As Open Secrets reported in 2021, Sacks found that Vossloh had paid the startup costs of Swifambo in 2011 and 2012 -- more than a year before Swifambo scored the PRASA contract and partnered with Vossloh España. And Mabunda's companies continued to receive money from Vossloh three years after the startup costs were paid.
Vossloh had no legitimate reason to pay Mabunda, but so far nothing has come from the
And little action has seemingly been taken by PRASA to recover the funds that are so vital to improve services for commuters. Molefe, as Prasa chairman, filed papers in court in 2017 to compel the Hawks to investigate corruption at PRASA. But so far, the Hawks have made no progress in their investigation into the PRASA and Swifambo corruption case, and there has been no judgment in the court action to compel the Hawks to investigate these matters.
Swifambo's liquidators have numerous ongoing civil claims to recover funds from Swifambo with regard to its contract with PRASA. So far the liquidators have auctioned 8 of the 13 locomotives Vossloh delivered for just under R100-million, but this is only a fraction of the R1.8-billion Vossloh made from the deal.
Nearly three years ago the Hawks told the
However, PRASA's spokesperson Andiswa Makanda has told Open Secrets that the agency believes the Hawks are prioritising the case and the agency is "cooperating with law enforcement agencies involved in the investigations". And the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which investigates matters referred to it by the Presidency, announced in
Vossloh España's parent company, Stadler, also declined to comment
Spanish authorities in 2022 submitted a Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) request to
Vossloh España's parent company, Stadler, also declined to comment on the allegations of its involvement in corruption with Swifambo, saying the matter is before the courts in
Mabunda was the inside man behind the Swifambo deal, and bank records show just how much he gained from being well-connected. Our next article in this series focuses on the man who made the Swifambo deal possible, and who is complicit in creating the access to transport struggles faced by South African commuters today.
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