Transnet Freight Rail CEO Siza Mzimela resigns

Sizakele Mzimela, Transnet Freight Rail’s (TFR) CEO for the past three years, will vacate the post at the end of October.

This is according to a letter Mzimela sent to staff this morning, where she confirms her departure for unspecified reasons.

“It’s hard for me to believe that it was just three short years ago when I was received by not more than four people in the TFR office. Today, I am happy that as I leave at the end of October 2023, I had the opportunity to personally meet and engage with so many of you…” the letter read.

Mzimela is the latest Transnet executive to fall on their sword. Last week, group CEO Portia Derby and group CFO Nonkululeko Dlamini announced they would resign from the troubled ports and rail entity. While Dlamini’s exit came immediately, Derby and Mzimela will stay in the role until the end of October.

Read: Transnet boss Portia Derby resigns

In the letter, the former CEO of South African Airways commended her team for their achievements during her tenure and encouraged them to continue their efforts despite the operational challenges they continue to face. Mzimela described the state of TFR as a “warzone”, further writing that things “will return to normality” for her team so that TFR can operate at its optimum level to support the country’s economy.

“Despite the seemingly endless litany of legacy challenges, which include a lack of tools for peak performance, a lack of locomotives, crippling theft and vandalism, as well as the “potholes” in the infrastructure system that force slower movement of trains due to our company’s safety-first ethos, you, the people of TFR continued to push forward.”

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