Spoornet’s ‘dream team’ faces daunting turnaround task

LEONARD NEILL SPOORNET HAS made five major departmental changes to support chief executive Dolly Mokgatle’s 5-year turnaround plan. Ravi Nair, formerly head of general freight business, now heads the new National Operations Centre (NOC). Herman Evert, previous IT chief, takes control of eight service delivery zones which are currently being established. Harry Mashele, previously manager, international joint ventures, becomes general manager of corporate strategy, leadership and compliance. Tshidi Nyama, who was in charge of specialised business, is now general manager of customer care. Percival Mosweu, who was appointed to head the technical section last year, is now chief officer engineering and technology. As head of NOC Nair will be responsible for translating customer requirements into a daily train plan, monitoring, overseeing rolling stock allocation and optimisation, and adjusting any deviations to a set plan as required on a day-to-day basis. These national functions give effect to central planning and co-ordination. The execution itself is decentralised into service delivery zones (SDZ). Here Evert’s new role comes into play. The eight zones under his control are Cape Town, Overborder, Bloemfontein, Germiston, Ermelo, Polokwane, Durban and Richards Bay. These will execute the train plan and manage local operations and maintenance. They are designed to bring about greater accountability and speedy resolution of problems, bring execution of the plan closer to the customer, and bridge the gap between head office and the customer’s staff in the field. The remaining three posts are extensions of the previous responsibilities of the head of each. “I have decided to transform our current structure into a business model led by a team capable of delivering this tough and challenging plan,” says Mokgatle. “I have also allocated specific portfolios, moving completely away from portfolios previously held by these managers. I have left these positions (four in all) vacant and I am busy with a recruitment company to bring in the best and newest skills to help us transform the business.”