Woman power rules at TPT

High heels and hair dos are
non-negotiable for many of
the fairer gender – and so
too are hard hats as women
assert their competence in
sectors once considered a
male domain.
Look no further than
Transnet Port Terminals’
huge R5 billion-plus
upgrade project at Cape
Town Container Terminal,
where women are
increasingly making their all-important contribution.
Project manager
Babalwa Mandla is
overseeing important
aspects of the terminal’s
five-year expansion target
which will double capacity
to 1.4 million TEUs by the
end of 2012.
She began her career as
a training technician with
Transnet Freight Rail in
2002 and thanks to her
tenacity moved swiftly
up the ranks in what was
then South African Port
Operations, thereafter
landing roles as project
engineer and technical
manager with TPT.
Zuziwe Dumile,
engineering graduate
and mother of two, is the
only woman technical
supervisor in the port, in
charge of maintenance and
repairs to a fleet of more
than 140 vehicles carrying
containers and other cargo
from quayside cranes to
the stacking area.
Colleague Pamela
Yoyo has recently been
appointed operations
manager overseeing a
shift at the container
terminal and is completing
a Master’s Programme in
Maritime Studies with the
University of Stellenbosch.
No fewer than 12 women
are driving the massive
cranes which keep cargo
moving in the port of Cape
Town while others started
out as trainees and are now
being paired with seasoned
operations managers to
become empowered to
perform roles previous
reserved for men.
The prospect of
taking up management,
operational and technical
positions within the
maritime industry has
attracted an increasing
number of women since
Transnet Port Terminals
embarked on a concerted
empowerment training
programme in 2000 to
enable women to play
leading roles in the future
of its business.