MICHAEL AVERY: Transnet implosion a national catastrophe
The ratings of JSE-listed mining companies are tied to the ability of TFR to arrest its decline and start delivering operating improvements
Transnet’s implosion is nothing short of a national economic catastrophe. When the state-owned logistics monopoly reported losses of R8.8bn (before tax and fair-value adjustments) no-one should have been surprised.
The mining bosses I’ve been speaking to on my radio show have been pointing to this situation for years now — albeit in far too diplomatic terms. Transnet’s financials have shown a steady deterioration under CEO Portia Derby, and the numbers tell the story. Even a layperson would be able to tell you that a drop in volumes to 149.5-million tonnes from 226-million tonnes in 2018 points to calamitous dysfunction inside Transnet Freight Rail (TFR). ..
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