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The Board of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has today issued a statement on the decision by its long-serving Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tshepo Lucky Montana not to avail himself for another term of contract.

The Chairperson of the Board, Dr. Popo Molefe said: “The Prasa Board of Control received a letter from the Group CEO on 15 March 2015 informing the organisation of his decision to step down at the end of his contract when it expires on 31 March 2016. After consultation with the Department of Transport, and in particularly the Hon. Minister Dipuo Peters, the Board has accepted Mr. Montana’s decision.

Dr. Popo Molefe further stated that “Mr. Montana leaves the organisation during its drive to modernize the rail fleet, infrastructure and operations, which is a vital component of our stated ambition of rolling out the train system of the future. PRASA could not have wished for a better candidate to lead this organisation than Mr. Montana. His determination and drive to ensure that PRASA becomes a modern public entity committed to delivering public value, whilst ensuring high quality passenger service, shall always be highly appreciated by this Board”.

The Board will immediately start the process of finding a suitable candidate.

Prior to his appointment as Group Chief Executive Officer of Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa in October 2010, Mr. Montana was appointed to the Board of the SARCC by Cabinet in 2005 and served on various Board Committees and later became its CEO.

Montana has a wealth of experience in the transport sector which dates back to 1999 when he was part of a team that put together a strategy for the restructuring of Transnet, known then as the “Transnet End-State”. Montana served on the Steering Committee looking at the restructuring of Spoornet – a division of Transnet. He was also appointed the Co-Chair of the Ports Restructuring Committee (PRC), mandated to explore restructuring options for the Durban Container Terminal and the Ports Sector as a whole, which reported directly to the Ministers of Transport and Public Enterprises. Montana served as the coordinator of the National Framework Agreement (NFA) from 1999 to 2004, which oversaw the restructuring of State assets, ranging from Energy, Ports, Telecommunications, Aviation, and Transport.

Mr. Montana leaves PRASA as a solid organisation which has come to be respected as a leader in public transport solution and the Board wishes to thank him for his invaluable contribution.

Issued by the Chairperson of the PRASA Board