Gama gets the thumbs up from senior freight industry source

Strong support has been expressed by a senior freight industry executive for the reappointment of Siyabonga Gama as CEO of Transnet Freight Rail (TFR). This after he was recently dismissed from TFR after a disciplinary process found him guilty of a number of mismanagement charges. “I must say that I’m a supporter of Gama,” said the FTW source who preferred not to be named, “despite the findings at the hearing. “I’ve worked with him for 15 years, and I’ve never had any negative with him.” Indeed, the executive added, his only disappointment was that Gama had gone back to the rail arm of Transnet, rather than into the ports network in which he had previously had extensive experience. The point the executive made was that Gama had suffered because of that technical “responsibility’ that a CEO has for the adverse actions of one of the members of the management pyramid below him. In his specific case Gama had alleged responsibility in a botched procedure for a R6.5-billion tender for 212 locomotives, where a “whistleblower” led Transnet to believe there was a corrupt relationship between one of its officials and one of the directors of EMS, the preferred bidder. Also, Transnet admitted that it had made a mistake when rating the black economic empowerment (BEE) status of the EMS SA-US jointventure. The point that was made at the time was that Gama should possibly have noted the discrepancies in the bid in TFR’s review of the tender procedure, and he was dismissed because of the “mismanagement” involved in failing to do so. At the same time our freight executive contact revealed that he also supported the fact that rail was a primary focus of Transnet’s five-year investment plans. Of the R110.5 billion which is intended to be spent on rail, ports and pipelines projects by 2016, particular attention would be given to backlogs in rail, according to the parastatal transport operation’s new CEO, Brian Molefe. Some R63.7 bn is targeted at growth and maintenance projects within TFR. “We certainly need locos and rolling stock,” said the FTW source, “and that’s what we should be getting with this quick fix. “I’ve no problems with the fact that a few billions have been allocated to this end.”