Lucky Montana

Last updated

Tshepo Lucky Montana was the chief executive officer of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) between 2010 and 2015. [1]

Montana entered the public transport sector in the 1990s and was appointed to the board of Prasa's predecessor, the South African Rail Commuter Corporation (SARCC), in 2005; he later became the chief executive officer (CEO) at SARCC. [2] According to the Mail & Guardian , he also served for a period as political adviser to Jeff Radebe while Radebe was Minister of Public Enterprises. [3] He was appointed group CEO of Prasa in October 2010. [2] Later that year, the Mail & Guardian reported that he was also a frontrunner for appointment as CEO of Trasnet, [3] although he ultimately remained at Prasa until 2015. In April 2015, Prasa announced that Montana had expressed his intention to step down as CEO when his contracted expired at the end of March 2016. [2] However, he did not reach his contract's expiry date and was dismissed in July 2015. [4]

Montana's tenure at Prasa was controversial. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] In June 2022, the Zondo Commission, established to investigate allegations of state capture in the South African government, recommended that the Hawks should expedite its investigations into allegations that Montana was responsible for criminal misconduct while at Prasa; it also recommended that the National Prosecuting Authority should give "serious consideration" to the prospect of prosecuting Montana and that a special commission of inquiry should be established to investigate Prasa's "slide into almost total ruin" during and after Montana's tenure. [10] The chairperson of the commission, Raymond Zondo, wrote:

Many, many days of the Commissions hearings were devoted to the allegations of the capture of Prasa and strident denials thereof, especially by Mr Montana. However, I am left with the uneasy perception that there is much about the ills of Prasa that has not yet been uncovered. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Prosecuting Authority</span> South African government agency

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is the agency of the South African Government responsible for state prosecutions. Under Section 179 of the South African Constitution and the National Prosecuting Authority Act of 1998, which established the NPA in 1998, the NPA has the power to institute criminal proceedings on behalf of the state and to carry out any necessary functions incidental to institution of criminal proceedings. The NPA is accountable to Parliament, and final responsibility over it lies with the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services.

Nkosinathi Phiwayinkosi Thamsanqa Nhleko is a South African politician and former trade unionist from KwaZulu-Natal. He was the Minister of Police and Minister of Public Works in the second cabinet of President Jacob Zuma. In March 2024, he resigned from the African National Congress (ANC) and became the national organiser for Zuma's Umkhonto we Sizwe Party.

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is the revenue service of the South African government. It administers the country's tax system and customs service, and enforces compliance with related legislation. It is governed by the SARS Act 34 of 1997, which established it as "an organ of state within the public administration, but as an institution outside the public service." It thus has a significant degree of administrative autonomy, although it is under the policy control of the Minister of Finance. Effectively, SARS manages, administers, and implements the tax regime as designed by the Minister and National Treasury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa</span> State-owned enterprise founded in 1990

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) is a South African state-owned enterprise responsible for most passenger rail services in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in South Africa</span>

Corruption in South Africa includes the improper use of public resources for private ends, including bribery and improper favouritism. Corruption was at its highest during the period of state capture under the presidency of Jacob Zuma and has remained widespread, negatively "affecting criminal justice, service provision, economic opportunity, social cohesion and political integrity" in South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zweli Mkhize</span> South African doctor and politician (born 1956)

Zwelini Lawrence Mkhize is a South African medical doctor and politician who served as the Minister of Health from May 2019 until his resignation on 5 August 2021. He previously served as the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs from 2018 to 2019. Before that, he was the fifth Premier of KwaZulu-Natal from 2009 to 2013.

Sisi Virginia Khampepe is a retired South African judge who served in the Constitutional Court of South Africa between October 2009 and October 2021. Formerly a prominent labour lawyer, she joined the bench in December 2000 as a judge of the Transvaal Provincial Division. She was also a member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Azwihangwisi Faith Muthambi is a South African politician who represents the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly of South Africa. She was formerly the Minister of Public Service and Administration and Minister of Communications under President Jacob Zuma. She returned to the National Assembly in June 2024 after serving a prior stint in her seat between 2009 and 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siyabonga Cwele</span> South African doctor and politician

Siyabonga Cyprian Cwele is a South African politician who served in the cabinet of South Africa from September 2008 to May 2019, most recently as the Minister of Home Affairs between 2018 and 2019. He was appointed as the South African Ambassador to China in December 2020. He is a member of the African National Congress (ANC) and represented the party in Parliament from 1994 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mcebisi Jonas</span> South African politician and businessman (born 1960)

Mcebisi Hubert Jonas is a South African politician and businessman who was the Deputy Minister of Finance of South Africa between May 2014 and March 2017. He is best known as a state capture whistleblower. In 2016, he publicly alleged that the Gupta brothers had offered him the post of finance minister under President Jacob Zuma.

The Gupta family is a wealthy and influential business family from India, with close ties to former South African President Jacob Zuma and his administration. The family's most notable members are the brothers Ajay, Atul, and Rajesh "Tony" Gupta—as well as Atul's nephews Varun, and US-based Ashish and Amol.

Mosebenzi Joseph Zwane was the Minister of Mineral Resources of South Africa in the Second Cabinet of former President Jacob Zuma serving from 2015 until 2018. A controversial figure, Zwane resigned on 25 February 2018 following allegations of state capture and in particular his role in the Vrede Dairy Project, which helped bankroll the Gupta Family wedding.

Pieter-Louis Myburgh is a South African investigative journalist.

Brian Molefe is a South African businessman and business executive. Molefe rose to prominence during his tenure as the CEO of the Public Investment Corporation, heading the secretariat as CEO at the beginning of the corporatisation of the PIC in 2003 through 2010, leaving the organisation with assets under management of R900bn at the expiry of this contract. He was previously a political activist and politician. He is best known for his roles as the CEO of the Public Investment Corporation, CEO of Transnet and Eskom. On 29 August 2022, Molefe was arrested on corruption charges linked to a R93-million corruption and fraud case into the purchase of locomotives for Transnet.

Sfiso Norbert Buthelezi is a South African politician and member of the National Assembly of South Africa. He is a member of the country's ruling party, the African National Congress.

Arthur Fraser is a South African civil servant and former intelligence operative who was head of the State Security Agency from 2016 to 2018 and National Commissioner for Correctional Services from 2018 to 2021. He was previously an anti-apartheid activist in the African National Congress, a senior official in the now-defunct National Intelligence Agency, and briefly a senior official in the Department of Home Affairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shamila Batohi</span> South African prosecutor

Shamila Batohi is a South African prosecutor. She has led the National Prosecuting Authority as National Director of Public Prosecutions since February 2019. She was formerly an adviser to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court from 2009 to 2019.

Bosasa was a South African company specialising in providing services to government, most notably correctional services. It consisted of Bosasa Group, Bosasa Youth Development Centres, and African Global Operations. The company was liquidated in 2019 after whistleblower Angelo Agrizzi revealed the malfeasance in prolonged scandal about its allegedly corrupt relationship with members of the governing African National Congress (ANC), aired during the Zondo Commission of Inquiry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zondo Commission</span> 2018 South African corruption investigation

The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State, better known as the Zondo Commission or State Capture Commission, was a public inquiry established in January 2018 by former President Jacob Zuma to investigate allegations of state capture, corruption, and fraud in the public sector in South Africa.

Ncediso Goodenough "Zizi" Kodwa is a South African politician and communications strategist who served as the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture from March 2023 until his resignation in June 2024. Before that, he was the Deputy Minister of State Security from 2019 to 2023. He was formerly the national spokesperson of the African National Congress (ANC) from 2014 to 2018.

References

  1. ↑ Kretzmann, Steve (17 April 2021). "Prasa's ex-CEO Lucky Montana joins the state capture commission conspiracy club". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Board of Prasa Group says Tshepo Lucky Montana will not be available for another term". Polity. 12 April 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Party loyalists in line for top Transnet job". The Mail & Guardian. 10 December 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  4. ↑ "Prasa CEO Montana run out of town on a rail". The Mail & Guardian. 16 July 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  5. ↑ Myburgh, Pieter-Louis (7 February 2016). "Prasa: Montana profited 'corruptly'". City Press. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  6. ↑ Myburgh, Pieter-Louis (3 July 2016). "Lucky Montana's pay rise questioned". City Press. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  7. ↑ Kretzmann, Steve (20 April 2021). "It's now Lucky Montana against the world: Ex-Prasa CEO defies mountain of evidence against him". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  8. ↑ Magubane, Khulekani (21 April 2021). "I'd do it again... Lucky Montana maintains he did nothing wrong as CEO at Prasa". News24. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  9. ↑ "Union says Prasa boss went off the rails". The Mail & Guardian. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  10. 1 2 Ndaba, Baldwin (22 June 2022). "Zondo wants criminal charges opened against former Prasa boss Lucky Montana". IOL. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.