Leonard Ramatlakane has been fired as a board member and chair of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), the Department of Transport confirmed on Tuesday morning.

The confirmation comes a week after News24 reported that, according to internal sources, Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga dismissed Ramatlakane from the board on May 30 for the unauthorised use of a luxury residential property reserved for travelling Prasa executives in Newlands, Cape Town.

On Tuesday morning Transport spokesperson Collen Msibi confirmed the decision, saying that "this follows an investigation by the entity on the misuse of one of its properties in Cape Town by the chairperson without due process being followed." 

Ramatlakane allegedly moved his family into the property while his own residence was undergoing renovations. He also reportedly hosted his 70^th birthday party at the home. 

Prasa had initially acquired the property to avoid hotel accommodation expenditure as its revenues plummeted over the past four years, with some services grinding to a halt following the massive looting of its infrastructure across the country.

Ramatlakane, who has chaired the failing passenger rail service since 2020, was given a deadline of May 16 deadline to make representations to Chikunga over the saga.