Prasa: First clean audit in 9 years

The state-owned passenger rail agency has a long-term goal of 600 million trips by 2035

- Nkateko Joseph Mabasa

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has achieved its first unqualified audit opinion in nine years — a major milestone in the state-owned entity's governance and operational turnaround.

Prasa is among a growing list of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) showing signs of recovery after years of instability, mismanagement and financial losses. Eskom, SAA and Airports Company South Africa have all reported improvements in performance and governance, signalling cautious optimism for the broader SOE reform agenda.

After four years of disclaimer opinions (2019 to 2022) and two years of qualified opinions (2023 and last year), Prasa's clean audit marks a turning point. It achieved 14 out of 15 targets in its medium-term development plan — a 93% performance rate and generated R707.82 million in commercial revenue.

Last week, Eskom reported a R16 billion profit after eight years after a R55 billion loss last year which the power utility says was driven by a 12.74% tariff increase, a 14% reduction in primary energy costs, reduced diesel use and the suspension of the government debt relief programme.