Anoj Singh’s push for delivery of locomotives was ill considered, says former Transnet engineer
Francis Callard tells state capture inquiry the move was baffling and doomed to fail
Former Transnet engineer Francis Callard has detailed how Gupta lieutenant Anoj Singh called for the state-owned logistics company to embark on an aggressive delivery schedule for the 1,064 locomotives. Continuing his testimony on Monday before the commission of inquiry into state capture, chaired by deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo, Callard described how this was doomed to fail, given the logistics needed to commission a new locomotive. No reasons were given why the delivery should be accelerated. “It was given to us post event that it would save forex costs in the future … but it was not demonstrated how this would be achieved.” Callard said he and colleagues made it clear to Singh that they could not absorb more than 300 locomotives per year due to marketing and other constraints. Callard’s business case for the acquisition of the locomotives put the estimated total cost at R38.6bn, which later ballooned to R54.5bn. The R38.6bn was inclusive of potential effects from forex...
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