PRASA Gets Unqualified Audit, Flagged on Supply Chain

The Auditor-General found supply chain management loopholes at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa despite a clean audit opinion for 2025/26.

Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in Transportation

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of unmarked steel shipping containers and a rail car on parallel tracks, one container shifted out of line. — Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa received an unqualified 2025/26 audit opinion, but the Auditor-General flagged supply chain management loopholes at the state rail operator. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) received an unqualified audit for the 2025/26 financial year. The Office of the Auditor-General nonetheless raised concerns about loopholes in the agency's supply chain management.

Why it matters

An unqualified opinion means the financial statements were found to be fairly presented, but supply chain weaknesses point to control gaps in how the state rail operator buys goods and services. The issues were discussed at a briefing for the Portfolio Committee on Transport.

PRASA received an unqualified audit opinion for the 2025/26 financial year. The source does not give quantified supply chain figures, and the scale of the identified loopholes remains unspecified.

The players

Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA)

PRASA is the state-owned entity responsible for operating and maintaining South Africa's passenger rail network, including Metrorail services.

Office of the Auditor-General

The Office of the Auditor-General is South Africa's constitutionally mandated body that audits the financial statements and performance of public institutions.

The details

The Auditor-General's office identified supply chain management issues during its audit of PRASA. The Auditor-General, PRASA and the Department of Transport briefed the Portfolio Committee on Transport on the agency's annual report, where some corrective processes were reported as being followed.

The 2025/26 financial year is the audit period that received the unqualified opinion.
On 11 November 2026, the Auditor-General, PRASA and the Department of Transport briefed the Portfolio Committee on Transport on the annual report.

Transport Oversight

Audit findings on PRASA's procurement sit within the accountability framework of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999, which governs how state entities such as PRASA manage public funds. The Auditor-General's identification of supply chain loopholes despite an unqualified opinion points to procurement controls as an area of continuing scrutiny for the rail operator.

PRASA's supply chain findings bear on the procurement processes that determine how rail services are maintained and expanded. Commuters depending on Metrorail should watch for whether the corrective processes reported to the Portfolio Committee translate into service improvements.

The takeaway

An unqualified audit does not mean an audit free of concerns: the Auditor-General's supply chain findings show where PRASA's procurement controls still need work. Readers tracking public rail should follow whether those controls are strengthened.