The Africa Report — July-August 2017

I

n recent years Transnet has

portrayed itself as the back-

bone of South Africa’s infra-

structuredevelopment.Largely

unfettered by the governance

issuesthathavemiredotherstate-

owned companies, such as South

African Airways and beleaguered

power utility Eskom, the state-

run transport company looked

to be a model of competence

until recent opposition claims

about contracting improprieties.

It is overseeing a R300bn ($23bn)

series of investments designed to

upgrade the country’s infrastruc-

tureandenableeconomicgrowth

and job creation.

TheMarketDemandStrategyis

a seven-year investment strategy

announced in 2012, its declared

aim to expand rail, port and pipe-

lineinfrastructuretomeetmarket

demand for greater capacity. Five

yearsintoit,SiyabongaGama,the

company’s group chief executive

officer (CEO), gives a progress

report: “We have done quite well

in terms of investments in the

pipeline, on rail and also in the

ports,” he tellsThe Africa Report.

Transnet’sbalancesheetisrela-

tively strong. In its latest financial

statement for the six months to

September 2016, it had cash of

R9.6bn ($743m) and had repaid

DOSSIER LOGISTICS

Transnet in

South Africa’s state-run

transport and logistics company

is in charge of a $23bn

investment programme and has

plans for continental expansion,

but it’s been slow to splash the

cash and now has been hit by

allegations of corrupt deals

ByMarcia Kleinin Cape Town and

Mark Andersonin Durban

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