Despite ‘clever accounting’, Transnet is still an operational mess – Gauteng fuel pipeline breach is now at crisis point
13 August 2022
Note to Editors: Find attached a soundbite from the DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises, Ghaleb Cachalia MP
While Transnet may have succeeded in turning a profit through an accounting smoke and mirrors, its operational capabilities continue to deteriorate markedly across the board. Independent estimates indicate that the vital Gauteng fuel pipeline has been breached 9 times in the past 19 days.
With Parliament opening for a new term, the DA will motivate that the Committee on Public Enterprises invites Transnet Executives to come and account for the escalating breaches of the Gauteng fuel pipeline. They need to provide details of steps that they will be taking to ensure that this issue is addressed as a matter of urgency.
Despite spending R8 billion on pipeline security in the past 3 years, Transnet has completely failed to protect the Gauteng fuel artery and communities that live alongside it. In addition to the environmental damage that these constant oil spills have on local areas, the increasing incidents of pipeline breach now pose a serious risk to energy security in the Gauteng area.