Molefe out to clean up Transnet

Claws of corruption run very deep, says new chair.

President has made it his mission to improve management of public institutions.

South Africa’s port and freight operator needs to cleanse itself of “pervasive corruption” so it can improve efficiencies and win back public and investor confidence, its new chairperson said. Together with Eskom, Transnet is at the centre of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s bid to improve the management of public institutions engulfed by corruption scandals during the nine-year tenure of Jacob Zuma, his predecessor. Faced with a loss of voter support, the ruling ANC forced Zuma to quit in February.

Ramaphosa named former finance minister Pravin Gordhan as public enterprises minister, who this month appointed Popo Molefe as Transnet’s interim chair and overhauled its board. Molefe has dedicated his first days on the job to assessing the extent of the graft there.

“We need to find out how deep this problem has gone, because it is a pervasive problem,” Molefe, 66, said in an interview in Johannesburg on Wednesday. “It is in the interest of looters, thieves, corrupt people to compromise as many people as possible.”

Transnet has been caught up in allegations of corruption linked to the Gupta family, who are friends with Zuma and have done business with his son, Duduzane.

The questionable deals allegedly enabled the family and their allies to earn massive kickbacks on a locomotives deal. Everyone involved has denied wrongdoing.

Ramaphosa last month referred claims of mismanagement and graft at power utility Eskom and Transnet to the police’s special investigating unit.

“The claws run very deep, you can’t set specific targets to say ‘by this time we will be done’,” said Molefe.

“As we uncover these things and the evidence is adequate, we will have to act and communicate, because our people want action.”

Transnet last year reduced its seven-year capital investment plan by 17% to R229.2 billion in response to lower-than-anticipated freight demand.

“I am going there to help discharge the mandate of the company – it has to invest in infrastructure and use that to attract more investment,” Molefe said.

During his time at the helm of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), the parastatal made losses due to irregular spending. Molefe then challenged some contracts Prasa entered into, alleging bid-rigging and corrupt activities. – Bloomberg