A renewed and reinvigorated focus on regional strength will dominate Transnet’s post-coronavirus growth strategy, CEO for the state-owned company (SOC), Portia Derby, has said.
Speaking during a webinar about “The Impact of Covid-19 on Freight and Logistics” co-hosted by the SA Transport Conference and International Road Federation, Derby emphasised that the North-South Corridor would be prioritised.
Despite the manifold issues that have impeded the corridor, "these interlinkages into the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are quite crucial for South Africa,” she said.
Looking at the parastatal’s involvement in the continent as whole, Derby illustrated that Transnet was currently involved in 13 African states – Nigeria, Benin, Senegal, Ghana, Togo, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Angola, Zambia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania and Kenya.
According to information shared with the webinar participants, Transnet’s investments on the continent can be placed in three separate categories – where they operate, potential projects, and joint operations.
Whereas the SOC is operational in Zambia and Togo, as per a slide used by Derby, Mozambique, Botswana and Zimbabwe are the only countries in which Transnet is jointly involved.
The other countries mentioned all fall under the category of “potential projects”.
More importantly, Derby said: “Areas where we have operations, in certain cases, we will be retracting because it’s just too far for us because our strategy going forward is going to be one of deeply concentrating and specialising in the SADC.”
It boiled down to closer-to-home pragmatism, she added.
“For South Africa to grow, our neighbourhood also needs to be growing.”
