With an unemployment rate of about 27% in South Africa, State-owned Transnet CEO Siyabonga Gama has highlighted the need for creating, on an urgent basis, more job absorption strategies.

This vision, he explained at the recent Vision 2030 Summit, in Johannesburg, will involve employing more of the youth, while furthering intracontinental trade in Africa.

In line with this, Gama pointed out that Transnet had adopted its Transnet 4.0 Strategy, which was linked to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and was focused on repositioning Transnet as a globally integrated logistics solutions provider.

With technology as the driver behind growth across Africa, Gama highlighted that, “if we want to see a continent that is truly digital, then we must do this on our terms”.

As the world evolved to meet the requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and its disrupting effect on all economies, he pointed out, there were things South Africa, and the continent, would need to consider to achieve true digital growth.

This included the development of digital skills, with all industries needing to become digitally disrupted, while public–private partnerships remained top drivers for change.

“The Fourth Industrial Revolution is the defining moment of our time, and it promises a fusion of technologies which are poised to disrupt all industries.”

These changes, he explained, meant new technologies, new market entrance opportunities, new customer expectations and, therefore, new business models, to which the continent needed to adapt rapidly.

“Considering this, we find ourselves, as Transnet, operating in an ever-changing global environment, with the Fourth Industrial Revolution transforming the way we do business, transforming the way we respond to stakeholders and transforming and showing us different impacts in a . . . way we think we should interact with society,” he said.

In terms of Transnet’s new strategic blueprint, called Transnet 4.0, the entity had prioritised geographic diversification “using the core competences of ports, railway lines and pipelines”.

This strategy also aimed to grow Transnet to a R100-billion business by 2020, as well as position it among the top five international logistics groups by focusing on major growth areas, including geographical diversification, while encouraging the notion of intra-African trade and manufacturing.

Where other continents were experiencing intracontinental trade of between 40% and 50%, Gama said, Africa’s intracontinental trade stood at only about 16%.

A step towards intracontinental trade, he averred, was the National Development Plan (NDP), which brought the possibility of jobs and accelerated growth.

Gama said the NDP could also contribute to growth in other African economies, through intracontinental trade.

Further promoting intracontinental trade, he highlighted, Transnet had launched Transnet International Holdings, which would focus on facilitating multiple rail, port and pipeline projects in the rest of Africa.

“In order to ensure that we grow, we need to work with government in ensuring the success of the NDP. Government, in turn, needs to be an enabler and provide a friendly environment in which to do business,” said Gama.

He added that it was vital to build relationships with others on the continent to create partnerships.

Meanwhile, Transnet had identified new potential growth markets, including South America, North Africa and the Middle East, for its existing products and core capabilities.

“This will provide a stimulus to reindustrialisation in not only the domestic economy but also regional and continental economies,” he said, adding that all of those growth paths were underpinned by a strong focus on maximising the use of technology to drive efficiency, innovation and effectiveness.