Recent newspaper articles depicting Transnet in a negative light ”lacked substance”, the parastatal’s acting CEO Chris Wells said on Wednesday.
The articles that appeared on June 6 and 20 in the Business Times were ”highly charged”, he told a results presentation in Sandton, Johannesburg.
The first article concerned an internal audit report that was alleged to reveal financial mismanagement and slack controls.
”This report was leaked by a senior figure who has his own agenda. We told the reporter that we had arranged for him to meet with a senior partner of Ernst & Young who would explain that the report had been taken out of context.”
However, Wells claimed the paper published a ”ridiculous” story, stating the report was being used in a battle within the board and management over the appointment of a new CEO.
”It was misguided, or it was mischief to relate the two stories.”
In the second report on June 20, it was alleged that Transnet executives had been compelled to undergo lie detector tests as the parastatal tried to uncover who might have leaked the report to the press.
”Forensic investigations were carried out in a particular division, but that division alone.”
He added that Transnet’s employment contracts prevented employees from releasing any information without approval.
The second report also alleged that Transnet was too busy with its hunt for the alleged corruption whistle-blower and was ignoring the expansion of the Richards Bay Coal Terminal.
”The Richards Bay Coal Terminal has nothing to do with Transnet — the article lacked substance,” Wells said.
”If any person within Transnet believes that something is wrong, we have a tip-off system that is handled externally,” he noted.
Turning to the appointment of a new CEO for Transnet following Maria Ramos’ departure for Absa, Wells said an announcement would be made in due course.
”I don’t want to answer questions on this — one question just leads to another.”
On Wednesday the state-owned transport infrastructure operator said profit had increased marginally by 3% to R13,2-billion for the year ended March 31 2009 compared to the prior year.
The Business Times could not be immediately reached for comment. — Sapa