COVER STORY
brian MOLEFE speaks
He has been one of the country’s leading proponents of transformation for a long time. His work on South Africa’s transformation of its listed companies forms the basis for heated debates on change all over the country. Business colossuses and BEE practitioners beat a path to his door. Written by Mzwandile Jacks
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n so far as there is a popular line in South Africa’s environs of transformation, Brian Molefe, CEO of Transnet, lays it down. Transnet is the country’s biggest transport utility. Molefe is also the former CEO of South Africa’s only sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC). He has been a staunch critic of South African companies that failed to transform themselves in the past few years.
exclusive interview, Molefe told TransformSA it was his duty to ensure that Transnet helped with realising the broader societal objective of transforming the economy.
These companies included Sasol, the JSE-listed petrochemicals giant. The PIC holds a significant stake in this company. He was also particularly harsh on other companies where PIC held a stake. Molefe’s current comments on transformation are as weighty as earlier ones. Speaking in an
“We have increased our BB-BEE spend over the past three years from R6.9 billion to R19.4 billion,” Molefe said. “This is 75 percent of our total procurement spend compared to a 50 percent target set by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).”
Transnet spent billions of rand annually in buying services and goods which it sees as its biggest opportunity to ensure that the South African economy is transformed.
Volume 1 • 2011
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