Godongwana fears Transnet will become the next Eskom

CAPE TOWN - Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana fears Transnet will become the next Eskom. 
 
He said the country’s electricity crisis remains the biggest constraint to growing the economy and he’s concerned that ongoing problems in the transport logistics sector will further strangle growth. 
 
Godongwana was speaking to economists in Cape Town on Thursday morning, a day after delivering the final budget of this political term.

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With the economy stagnant for nearly a decade and the country getting poorer per capita, Godongwana said that he inherited a trifecta of constraints to improving the country’s finances - an electricity crisis, debt of half a trillion rand, and low economic growth. 
 
Now the country is also confronted with major transport logistics problems.
 
"One of the things we should not do in dealing with the Transnet issue is not repeat the Eskom template. It’s a bad template. We put money into Eskom right through, hoping that by fixing Eskom, we are fixing the electricity problem." 
 
Godongwana said that the electricity and logistics sectors must be opened to private partnerships to help alleviate the problems. 
 
"We still carry baggage, a number of us, that everything must be done by the state. It's a problem." 
 
Transnet has received a R47 billion guarantee from Treasury to help with its liquidity problems and to implement its turnaround plan.