Transnet to create 75000 new jobs in capex plan

[Steve Appleton]

From Business Day, 28 October 2011, http://www.businessday.co.za/Articles/C ... ?id=157326

Transnet spending programme to create 75000 jobs
Transnet’s R110bn capital expenditure plan would have an estimated economy-wide effect of 75000 new jobs by the end of 2016
ALISTAIR ANDERSON
Published: 2011/10/28 08:57:08 AM

TRANSNET’s R110bn capital expenditure plan would have an estimated economy-wide effect of 75000 new jobs by the end of 2016, CEO Brian Molefe said yesterday.

The plan is in line with the state’s New Growth Path objectives aimed at creating 5-million jobs in the current decade through government and strategic industrial development initiatives. Transnet, a parastatal, plans to be a part of this employment revolution.

Mr Molefe was speaking at the National Union of Metalworkers of SA’s (Numsa’s) job conference.

While he had to be prompted to discuss job creation during question time, as his speech focused largely on Transnet’s need to make rail freight transport more reliable and more widely used than road, he did reveal details about the job targets of his capex plans.

Mr Molefe said at the beginning of the fiscal year, there were 56000 people employed at Transnet. The capital expenditure programme is expecting to create 3000 direct jobs by the end of next year.

"By the end of 2016, the staff complement will be 61000. Those are just the direct jobs," he said.

He said later that the Transnet programme was likely to contribute a total of 75000 new jobs created through suppliers.

He also said that Transnet had understood the importance of reinvigorating the artisan trade in SA. The average age of South African artisans is reaching 50 years.

Mr Molefe said Transnet had trained a total of 18000 artisans and planned to grow this number to 20000 over the next five years.

"We want to train more artisans than our current needs. We want to give people skills. We recognise the skills mismatch.

"There are jobs for chartered accountants, engineers and boiler makers but not enough skilled people for those jobs."

He said artisan jobs would need to be better advertised and applicants would need to be screened.

This was necessary to avoid incidents such as the stampede that occurred when thousands of people pitched up at Transnet’s recruitment centre in Bloemfontein in response to job adverts in local newspapers. Fifty people were admitted to hospital as a result of the incident.

Numsa criticised the weaknesses of SA’s ports, including local ships’ space being overtaken by other cargo companies.

Mr Molefe was asked by Numsa president Cedric Gina whether "allegations that the business family the Guptas controlled procurement at Transnet were true".

He said these allegations had been mentioned in the media and he blamed the press for exaggerating and printing lies.

"The media is above board and somehow has the right to write as it pleases … it is above Jesus and the constitution, I’m not aware of the Gupta family controlling procurement at Transnet.

"If the media can show the facts, let’s get (Public Protector) Thuli Madonsela to look at it," Mr Molefe emphasised.

Mr Molefe earlier this year denied that the Guptas had a hand in his appointment in February as the head of Transnet.