Transnet sabotage

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has identified Transnet’s biggest problems, which prevent the utility from meeting its targets, including theft, vandalism, and incidents of sabotage.

Creecy revealed these problems in response to a Parliamentary question from MK Party MP and former PRASA CEO Lucky Montana.

Montana asked the minister why Transnet was not able to move 154 million tonnes to realise a profit, following the utility’s reported loss of R7.3 billion.

He pointed out that Transnet railed 226.7 million tonnes in 2018 but saw a drastic 34% decrease in railed volumes between 2019 and 2024.

Creecy explained that Transnet’s target of moving 154 million tonnes was based on several key initiatives developed in collaboration with critical stakeholders. 

She said these stakeholders included business partners, the National Logistics Crisis Committee, and law enforcement agencies, all working together to reverse the declining performance. 

“Despite these concerted efforts that initially helped reverse the downward trend, several disruptive factors ultimately hindered the success of the recovery plan,” she said. 

“These include escalating security incidents, power supply interruptions, availability of locomotives and disruptive derailments.”

Creecy attributed the decline in freight volumes experienced between 2019 and 2024 to the following factors –

• Theft, vandalism and incidents of sabotage
• The economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic
• Locomotive availability
• Underinvestment in infrastructure
• Extreme weather conditions

While Eskom is more known for the incidents of sabotage that hindered the power utility’s performance, Transnet has also been plagued by this problem for years.

In 2023, the port and rail authority sought state intervention after an alarming spike in cable theft incidents along the railway line that connects Durban to Gauteng. 

BusinessDay reported that these incidents nearly led to the collapse of its operations.

“The issue of security is beyond us as a company, and the government needs to help. I call it economic sabotage,” the corridor’s managing executive, Rudzani Ligege, told the publication. 

“I wouldn’t want to say we are losing the fight because when we put in the interventions, there is a big difference in theft incidents … arresting people on the ground is just one intervention point. We also need to work on the convictions.”

In September of this year, National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola said damage to Transnet’s infrastructure constitutes economic sabotage.

He explained that Transnet pipelines service an annual average of 16 billion litres of liquid fuel and more than 450 million cubic metres of gas at about 250 valves, which transverses five provinces, including KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and North West.

However, Transnet recently told Daily Investor that there has been a decrease in the number of cable theft incidents at the utility.

It said this decline can be attributed to the roll-out of security technology and outcomes-based security contracting within the Transnet Freight Rail environment.

This is one of a number of green shoots at Transnet that form part of the turnaround plan implemented by its new management team under CEO Michelle Philips.

Transnet embarked on a new path at the end of last year – its board was overhauled, the CEO replaced, and a new 18-month recovery plan was created.

Transnet told Daily Investor that its leadership remains cautiously optimistic about the progress achieved under this plan. 

“We have seen encouraging developments, particularly in areas like operational efficiency, strategic collaborations, and financial discipline,” the utility said. 

For example, Transnet has entered into partnerships with key industry stakeholders, and private sector participants have started to materialise and deliver value to the utility’s operations.

Transnet said this has led to improved operational capacity and stability in critical sectors like mineral and bulk cargo transport.