South Africa announces new Transnet board members

South Africa's minister of public enterprises Pravin Gordhan has announced new members of the Transnet SOC’s board of directors, a step that he said underscored the government’s commitment to infuse the state-owned company with the requisite skills, experience and business acumen.

Minister Gordhan said the newly reconstituted board will help propel Transnet’s strategic transformation and the execution of its mandate as a critical cog in the South African freight and logistics domain, as well as a key driver of South Africa’s competitiveness and economic dynamism.

Minister Gordhan announced the appointment of nine new non-executive directors and the reappointment of two others onto the Transnet Board. These will be for a three-year term.

“As the Government’s shareholder representative, it gives me great pleasure to announce these new appointments as they will ensure strategic alignment in Transnet’s pursuit of its mandate as a key lever and driver of our economic engine, development and transformation,” said Minister Gordhan.

“These appointments will put Transnet on a firm strategic path that provides critical expertise, experience and acumen for Transnet to optimally and strategically execute on its roadmap, business plan, improve governance and optimise performance,” Minister Gordhan added.

The following constitute new appointments as Non-Executive Directors:

Andile Sangqu is appointed as the new Chairperson of the Board. Sangqu is the former Vice President of the Minerals Council South Africa and former Executive Head for Anglo American South Africa Ltd. Mr Sangqu was appointed Executive-in- Residence (EIR) at the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) from 2020. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant.

Lebogang Letsoalo is a global supply chain coach & CEO of Sincpoint, which focuses on sustainable supply chain consulting solutions, Trucking & Logistics services, mentorship and coaching in Procurement and Logistics. She is also the founder of the African Women in Supply Chain Association (AWISCA). With 23 years of experience in end-to-end supply chain within the Energy, Chemicals, Construction, Transport and Mining industries, she held various portfolios in the industry.

Martin Debel is an Executive Director at Experion Global with in-depth knowledge of the maritime industry due to proven working experience in various sectors and educational background. He brings skills in ports, terminal operations, shipping and waterborne logistics and ICT systems. He further has experience in Shipping, Supply Chain Management, Business Process Re-engineering, Strategy, Business Intelligence Surface Transportation, Functional Design, Port Development, Institutional Analysis, Logistics, Waterborne Logistics, Port terminal operations, Maritime logistics and ICT systems.

Dipak Patel joined the South African Presidential Climate Commission (PCC) in June 2021 as Head: Climate Finance and Innovation. He leads the team in its work in the areas of climate finance mapping, financing a just transition and developing a strategy for financing the pathway to a net-zero emissions target for 2050. Mr Patel was the Global Head: International Development Group for Standard Bank between 2010 and 2012, a New York based role responsible for the Bank’s relationships with multilateral financial institutions, development finance agencies and structuring of financial and funding solutions for infrastructure and development financing in Africa. He has a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) and a MSc in Development Economics and Finance.

Busisa Jiya is the CEO of Association for Savings and Investment SA (Asisa), with experience in savings, Asset Management, Collective Investment Schemes, Retirement Funds, Banking, and Insurance. He started his career as an equity analyst in 1996 and has progressed into senior leadership roles. He has served as MD of Absa Asset Management, MD of Thomson Reuters (Africa), and Acting CEO and Principal Officer of Eskom Pension and Provident Fund.

Mosadiwamaretlwe Pearl Zambane is a legal consultant with a strong Legal background backed by strong risk management experience. She was a Head of Legal Services & International Finance Department and provided strategic oversight and leadership at the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC).

She worked at Standard Bank of South Africa as the Head: Legal Services for Stanbic Africa and was responsible for the overall management of Stanbic’s legal team in 13 countries including drafting and vetting of contracts and transaction advice to business units. She also served as Executive Manager Legal Services at South African Airways (SAA). Ms Zambane holds an LLB, BA and Global Executive Development programme.

Boitumelo Sedupane is an Executive Committee member, with extensive experience in Human Resource leadership spanning six mining operations. She gained invaluable HR experience supporting operations in Continental Africa Region for various multinationals and South African organisations such as AngloGold Ashanti, Accenture and more recently, BMW Group SA, where she supported operations within the Asia Pacific Region and held various strategic and operational roles across the Human Capital. She holds a BA Honours Degree and Executive Master of Business Administration.

Refilwe Buthelezi is the current President of the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA). She has over 5 years working with the Council. Her previous roles with the Council include serving in the Fifth Term Council of ECSA and held the positions of Vice Chairperson of the Central Registration Committee as well as Member of the Audit and Risk Committee. She has also served as an accredited Assessor, Reviewer and Moderator for professional registration. She holds a Masters in Business Leadership and a BEng in Electrical and Electronics and a MEng in Engineering Management.

Elias Monage has extensive experience in the labour movement for over 20 years as the National Collective Bargaining Negotiator for NUMSA (National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa), the second biggest affiliate of COSATU (Congress of South African Trade Unions). He has extensive experience in staffing and recruitment environment, which entails working with Trade Unions, Bargaining Councils, NEDLAC, National Skills Authority and CCMA.

The following constitute reappointments as Non-Executive Directors:

Popo Molefe, founding member and Executive Chairperson of Lereko Investments (Pty) Ltd. Mr Molefe was the Premier of the North-West Province between 1994 and 2004. Mr Molefe is former Chairperson of Passenger Rail Association of SA (PRASA), PETROSA, ARMSCOR and various other private sector companies. His leadership expertise, knowledge of transport and logistics, mineral resources and diverse industries are expected to continue to add value to the Board.

Dr Sydney Mufamadi played a key role in the launch and maiden leadership of COSATU in 1985. He is the former Minister of Safety and Security. He is a Director of the School of Leadership at the University of Johannesburg.

With these appointments, the Transnet Board will have a complement of thirteen (13) Directors comprising of eleven (11) Non-Executive Directors and two (2) Executive Directors, being the GCE and GCFO.