“Don’t Like She System”

Those were the words of my builder friend, Jackson, back in my farming days. He never did quite get the difference between s/he.

Nor did he “get” the difference between amaBhunu and Zulus. He swore they were one and the same, and had a “system” to solve South Africa’s problems, but that is another story. Let us just be thankful he did not go into politics.

A lot of commentators, mostly bizfolk, praise our current transport minister for ‘fixing Transnet Freight Rail’. Well, she didn’t, but I am not going to bother with numbers. You know them already. How much coal is getting out of the ports? As they Brit comics said in my childhood days: “nuff said, mate”.

The last time railways ran well was under a transport minister who, for a short while, had been a steam locomotive stoker. Ben Schoeman was even tipped to become Prime Minister of South Africa, but he withdrew. BJ Vorster got there instead. En kyk hoe lyk hulle nou. That is the last time anything good happened for rail in SA.

The Schoeman System

It was not that Schoeman was altogether a systems man, although he was. It was more to do with the fact that it is very difficult to pull the wool over anyone who has actually shovelled coal on rail. This is because drivers are the most inveterate schemers (second only to airline pilots) in any arena.

Was Oom Ben a leader? Yes and no. He led by example. He was a well regarded effective administrator and manager. Rail, air and ports were the pride of the country under his tenure. He was no ideologue, unafraid to disagree with HF Verwoerd. He walked away in disgust from Vorster’s securocrats’ underhanded campaign against him. He was an adversary of Smuts, yet in hindsight, he was the last of the decent, Smuts style ministers. Both cabinit and transport have gone downhill since he stepped away.

So, it is not fair to criticise the current minister, given that she inherited a sorry mess, a mess that has worsened for 60 years before shecame along. Bizfolk think she is “fixing Transnet”. These days, AI could fix TFR: it is just numbers. But there is nothing to use AI on. Hardly any trains. No passenger mainline.

Sishen-Saldanha works fine. Nothing to fix. So, fix coal routes and ports. That seems pitfully little, to me. The whole of Transnet Freight rail is down to three corridors, three ports and one commodity. And is a long way from fixed.

What are they doing?