The South-African Transnet and the Chinese

Africa is on the move. Not only politically - as witnessed by recent events in Egypt, the Maghreb and Sudan - but also economically, which may just herald in the true liberalisation of the continent that was for so long blighted by internal strife and economic mismanagement. Or could it herald in a new era of colonisation ... this time by the Chinese?

Be that as it may, Africa is on the move and much of the economic movement is driven by Chinese investment and much of the goods being moved are moved by Transnet, the South African transport company. Although it is wholly owned by the South African government, Transnet is not subsidised and is a profitable undertaking.

According to South Africa’s Standard Bank which, in partnership with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), has a strong presence in 17 African countries outside South Africa, Chinese investment in Africa will double to €36.8 billion by 2015, as will Africa-China bilateral trade from the current €110 billion to €220 billion. African GDP is expected to rise by 6% in 2015, up from the current growth rate of 4.9%.

All this increased economic activity begs the question of how to transport all the associated goods across Africa’s poor road and rail networks.

According to its spokesman Mike Asefovitz, Transnet comprises 80% of the African rail network and is busy getting “their house in order in South Africa, where demand is outstripping supply”. Asefovitz could not comment “on a strategic level” on whether Transnet planned to link up with the infrastructure developments undertaken by the Chinese on the continent. (It should be noted that Transnet’s involvement in SADC is limited to the leasing of rolling stock and maintenance of railway lines and pipelines.)

With Africa’s biggest rail, pipeline and ports company ‘out of the game’ as far as infrastructure development in Africa outside of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is concerned, it leaves the ‘road’ open for other players like the EU, the United States and China to step into the breach to reach Africa’s riches.

Charles Visser