File Photo: Eskom CEO Brian Molefe and the power utility’s CFO Anoj Singh during a meeting with Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) on May 30, 2017 in Cape Town, South Africa. The Eskom delegation appeared before Scopa to explain how coal contracts were awarded to the Gupta-linked Tegeta company. (Photo by Gallo Images / Sowetan / Esa Alexander)

Daily Insider: South Africa is haemorrhaging money because of Transnet mismanagement

Beleaguered state-owned Transnet is fast becoming South Africa’s next Eskom, says the African Rail Industry Association's Mesela Nhlapo.

Published on:

30 Aug 2022, 12:02 pm

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Is Transnet on the path to becoming Eskom 2.0?

Transnet's latest annual report highlights net profits of R5bn – marking a significant turnaround from the R8bn in losses in the prior financial year – but the African Rail Industry Association (ARIA) says don't be fooled.

I spoke to ARIA CEO Mesela Nhlapo about the state of the country's ports and rail authority in a climate in which South Africa should be perfectly positioned to take advantage of high coal and commodity prices – but isn't.

ARIA wants the monopoly of Transnet broken, with greater private sector involvement for which there is significant appetite. This particular beleaguered state-owned entity is fast becoming South Africa's next Eskom, says Nhlapo.

She warns that decades of underspending on maintenance and the propensity to throw good money after bad at Transnet comes at a huge cost to South Africa's economy.

Nhlapo quotes Professor Jan Havenga, head of logistics management at Stellenbosch University, as estimating the cost of a floundering and ineffective Transnet at R385bn a year, or approximately 10% of GDP.

You can watch the full interview here.

OUTA chief investigator on state capture Rudie Heyneke reacts to the arrests of former Transnet and Gupta-linked Regiments executives charged with contravention of the PFMA, fraud, corruption and money laundering. Former Transnet CEO Brian Molefe and the parastatal's former finance head Anoj Singh were joined in the dock by Regiments Capital executives Litha Nyhonyha and Niven Pillay. The Hawks affected their arrests on Monday morning in relation to a R93m Transnet corruption matter in which former Transnet group chief executive Siyabonga Gama, former acting group CFO Garry Pita, former group treasurer Phetolo Ramosebudi, Regiments shareholder Eric Wood, Trillian Asset Management director Daniel Roy, and Albatime's Kuben Moodley, are all co-accused. OUTA is calling the latest round of arrests

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