Another state-owned company is losing badly to theft and vandalism
The rail line linking South Africa’s richest province to the continent’s biggest container port ran at 25% of its capacity over the past week because of theft, vandalism and rail damage.
The 688-kilometre (428-mile) line from the Port of Durban to Gauteng province only operated for 36 hours over six days, Transnet, the state-owned entity that runs the line, said in a letter to its customers seen by Bloomberg. The company confirmed the document.
“For the past week, there have been a total of 39 security-related incidents targeting critical areas on the mainline resulting in the closure of the line,” Transnet said in the letter, adding that heavy rain caused two further closures.
Criminals, often working in armed gangs, are targeting South Africa’s state-owned infrastructure, ranging from freight-rail lines to electricity-generating plants, contributing to longer power cuts and curbed shipments of crucial exports such as coal.
The container-rail line between Durban and Gauteng — a province that includes the biggest city of Johannesburg and the capital, Pretoria — is a crucial route for the country’s imports. It also transports cars from automotive plants and other manufactured goods to the port.
Additionally, valuable commodities like iron, coal and other ores have not been able to move through the ports, and the latest spate of theft and vandalism is only making it harder for the embattled freight rail company to catch up on its export backlogs.
As a result of the disruption, 58 trains are either stuck on the line or in staging yards, Transnet said.
According to data cited by the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF), supply chain logistics delays have cost the economy between R100 million and R1 billion each day, but the overall cost “is substantially greater than that.”
Transnet has repaired some of the vandalised equipment and replaced some stolen gear. The company said that eighteen people have been arrested, and 15 separate recoveries of stolen equipment have been made.
Read: Businesses in South Africa are buckling under load shedding – as liquidations climb
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