The billions of rand allocated in the Budget to South African Airways would be far better spent on South Africa’s ports which are Transnet’s money-spinners.
That’s the view of Citrus Growers’ Association CEO Justin Chadwick who said it was noticeable that Transnet, unlike Eskom and SAA, had not been mentioned in the Budget.
“It must be because in our discussions with Transnet they have said they can fund their infrastructural needs from their balance sheet.”
This view is in keeping with the sentiments of former Transnet acting CEO, Mohammed Mahomedy, who early last year during a financial statements presentation said the freight and rail SOE was probably the most profitable of all the parastatals.
Profitability alone though, Chadwick remarked, was not enough to improve the efficiency of South Africa’s ports.
“The big unknown is labour. It caused all the problems last year because of go-slows. A lot of those issues have not been addressed yet to the satisfaction of the unions and it’s a big red flag because labour can cause untold problems in the ports.”
Chadwick doesn’t need a crystal ball to hold onto these views.
Considering that finance minister Tito Mboweni’s biggest budget surprise was slashing the government’s wage bill by R37.8 billion in the next financial year, labour’s response that South Africa’s civil servants will not accept this could very well prove Chadwick’s reservations right – unfortunately.
