A good week for James Holley
Three years ago James Holley’s company, Traxtion, almost made history. The private freight rail operator was on the brink of being allowed into one of South Africa’s most exclusive clubs, the state rail monopoly. Then the government, Transnet and probably the ANC and trade unions got cold feet about letting private enterprise join, and the chance went begging. Until now. Traxtion is back in the picture and willing to invest R3.4bn in locomotives and wagons. “We are making this investment because of our confidence and our belief in government policies, and because of the demand from our big blue-chip mining companies,” says Holley.
A bad week for Imogen Mashazi
Until recently, Imogen Mashazi was an obscure public servant, the city manager of Ekurhuleni, where she oversaw several clean audits at the metro (she has now retired). During her testimony at the Madlanga commission investigating police corruption last week, a different picture emerged: one of dismissiveness, obscurantism, favouritism and a lack of accountability in the face of serious charges against senior metro officials. Under cross-examination by the commissioners, she appeared unprepared when trying to frame her answers, and left the stand with her reputation in question.
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.