By Sipho Tshabalala
Mr William Dachs was unveiled as the new chief executive
officer of the Gautrain Management Agency (GMA). The announcement was made by
the Gauteng MEC for Public Transport and Road Infrastructure Jacob Mamabolo.
The MEC stressed the Provincial Government’s “confidence in Mr
Dachs abilities to lead the GMA to maintain and further the Agency’s excellent
levels of governance, transformation and vision for improved mobility coupled
with socio-economic development’.
Mr Dachs is a Professional Engineer registered with the
Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) and holds degrees in Civil
Engineering and Law. He has worked at the National Treasury and at the World
Bank developing skills in infrastructure finance. Prior to joining National
Treasury, Mr Dachs worked for ten years as a consulting civil engineer in
transport and water related projects in the country.
He served as the Agency’s Chief Operating Officer since 2014
and has prior to that as its Senior Executive Manager: Technical Services. 
His appointment is effective 01 February 2020 during which
he will shadow outgoing CEO Mr Jack van der Merwe for a month to facilitate
smooth transition.     
MEC Mamabolo also announced the retirement of Mr Jack van
der Merwe effective 29 February 2020 after serving for twenty years as Gautrain
Project Leader and Chief Executive of the GMA. He established the agency’s
fundamentals of good governance – including eight clean audits.
The MEC heaped praise on Mr van der Merwe remarking that “he
has earned the Gauteng Provincial Government’s unqualified gratitude”.