Portia Derby must be fired for corporate sabotage at Transnet

18 August 2023

The Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, should take a break from his playground mud fights with the ANC youth league and attend to the urgent leadership crisis at Transnet. Portia Derby, the Transnet CEO, has effectively admitted to corporate sabotage at the SOE and must hauled over the coals that she cannot deliver, be fired with immediate effect and replaced by a dyed-in-the wool logistics expert. We cannot countenance ministerial crony appointments that fail to deliver.

In a presentation made at a business event in Johannesburg, Derby made the shocking claim that her remit as head of Transnet – was not to improve the rail network, but to protect ‘mom and pop trucking outfits’ who are filling the gap that Transnet created. This, in any other area but hidebound SOE’s would amount to blatant corporate sabotage and Derby has no business remaining in her role as Transnet CEO if she is deliberately stalling efforts to turn around the SOE in order to protect the trucking business. It makes one wonder what on earth has happened to the much-touted ‘road to rail’ strategy?

Major exporters in South Africa have missed out on favorable commodity prices on the international market because of Transnet inefficiencies. This has cost South Africa dearly from losses in potential export receipts and tax receipts; for the CEO of a key SOE responsible for this transportation debacle to make these comments is hugely ill-advised – some would say irresponsible and reckless.

Independent estimates have shown that, the rail challenges at Transnet and loadshedding are shaving off between 2-3% of potential growth from the South African economy. This serious damage to the economy is obviously lost to Derby, as she appears to see nothing wrong with the extensive damage that Transnet freight is inflicting on the economy.

It doesn’t help that, even in the middle of this leadership crisis at Transnet, we have a Minister whose focus is on fighting with an inconsequential youth league outfit rather than attending to substantive issues of his portfolio. Even so, for the sake of Transnet and the country’s economy, Gordhan must show leadership for once: fire Derby and tell the nation what plans are in place to save the spine of our economy.

Issued by Ghaleb Cachalia, DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises, 18 August 2023