In July 2023, Public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan announced a shake-up of the Transnet board after constraints on the railways and ports resulted in South Africa missing out on billions of rand in revenue. On the 11-member board, nine new appointments were made including a new chair, Andile Sangqu, previously the vice-president of the Minerals Council and a former member of the Anglo American and Tongaat executive boards.  In October, the board created a turnaround plan that it believes could help arrest the state-owned transport group’s decline, help it return to profitability by 2025 and make its rail and port operations reliable for SA’s economy.  In December 2023, the National Treasury issued Transnet with an immediate R47 billion guarantee facility against which the entity is able to drawdown an initial amount of R22.8 billion to deal with immediate liquidity matters such as settling maturity debt. Transnet had a R7 billion debt repayment in November 2023 and R10 billion due by the end of March 2024. Its turnaround plan required R47 billion funding and for the Treasury to take over R61 billion of its debt. Its latest financials showed it made a loss of R5.7 billion, with R1 billion in debt service costs per month. Inefficiencies at the SOE have cost the economy billions, especially the mining industry, which relies on its infrastructure to export commodities as well as other industries including agriculture. The SA Association of Freight Forwarders said the failures at the SOE cost the domestic economy nearly R1 billion per day. This credit facility forms part of a guaranteed framework agreement between Godongwana’s department, Transnet and the department of public enterprises.  In this conversation, we talk about and get an update on the turnaround of Transnet with its Board Chairperson Andile Sangqu.

<p>In July 2023, Public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan announced a shake-up of the Transnet board after constraints on the railways and ports resulted in South Africa missing out on billions of rand in revenue. On the 11-member board, nine new appointments were made including a new chair, Andile Sangqu, previously the vice-president of the Minerals Council and a former member of the Anglo American and Tongaat executive boards.  In October, the board created a turnaround plan that it believes could help arrest the state-owned transport group’s decline, help it return to profitability by 2025 and make its rail and port operations reliable for SA’s economy.  In December 2023, the National Treasury issued Transnet with an immediate R47 billion guarantee facility against which the entity is able to drawdown an initial amount of R22.8 billion to deal with immediate liquidity matters such as settling maturity debt. Transnet had a R7 billion debt repayment in November 2023 and R10 billion due by the end of March 2024. Its turnaround plan required R47 billion funding and for the Treasury to take over R61 billion of its debt. Its latest financials showed it made a loss of R5.7 billion, with R1 billion in debt service costs per month. Inefficiencies at the SOE have cost the economy billions, especially the mining industry, which relies on its infrastructure to export commodities as well as other industries including agriculture. The SA Association of Freight Forwarders said the failures at the SOE cost the domestic economy nearly R1 billion per day. This credit facility forms part of a guaranteed framework agreement between Godongwana’s department, Transnet and the department of public enterprises.  In this conversation, we talk about and get an update on the turnaround of Transnet with its Board Chairperson Andile Sangqu.</p>

POWER Talk is a mid-morning talk show that delves deeper into the news of the day, along with larger societal themes, inviting listeners to help unpack issues on the day’s current affairs agenda and topics close to their hearts. The host also interviews the biggest newsmakers and experts in South Africa, helping listeners make sense of their world.

<p>POWER Talk is a mid-morning talk show that delves deeper into the news of the day, along with larger societal themes, inviting listeners to help unpack issues on the day&rsquo;s current affairs agenda and topics close to their hearts. The host also interviews the biggest newsmakers and experts in South Africa, helping listeners make sense of their world.</p>