South Africa’s government has moved to dispel any notions that a crisis exists at the country’s logistics utility, purportedly prompting a decision to privatise Transnet.
The news comes after a slew of high-level resignations that have gutted the parastatal following the announcement that its much-maligned CEO, Portia Derby, has decided to leave at the end of the current calendar year.
Nonkululeko Dlamini resigned alongside Derby as the group’s chief financial officer, followed not too long thereafter by the resignation of Sizakele Mzimela of the state-owned company’s (SOC) rail division, Transnet Freight Rail.
With news over the weekend that stalwart leader, Popo Molefe, had resigned as chairman of Transnet’s board, the beleaguered SOC appears utterly rudderless at a time when South Africa’s port and rail logistics can ill afford it.
But a leaked draft version of the government’s Freight Logistics Roadmap that it’s seeking to privatise Transnet is false, the presidency of Cyril Ramaphosa has said.
It cites several initiatives currently under way to address the country’s logistical challenges, including the establishment of the National Logistics Crisis Committee.
The statement is at pains to explain that private-sector participation in SOC activities pertaining to supply chain and logistics does not necessarily mean government is in the process of privatising these services.
The statement also emphasised that government is still the primary custodian overseeing the provision of reliable and efficient logistics through Transnet.
