From the CEO – 2016

Swaziland Railway

Loliwe Magazine Article: – S.Z. Ngubane, Chief Executive Officer

When the 2016/17 Financial Year started we had revenue and tonnage figures at the same level as the previous year. The global low demand for commodities especially minerals coupled with prices that had dropped by 65% a year ago, made one predict tough times ahead. As a transporter or carrier we depend on what is produced locally for exports, from neighboring countries and the SADC region passing through Swaziland, we equally depend on what is consumed locally in the form of imports such as fuel and other finished goods. The severe drought, never experienced in decades, sealed the gloomy picture and indeed Swaziland Railway was affected when informed by the Swaziland Sugar Association (SSA) about a reduction in export volumes by 50%.

The performance of the 1st quarter (April to June) turned out completely different from the budget estimates. The quarterly budget in terms of profit was estimated to be a loss but luckily we made profit. Imports were very strong and exceeded budget so was transit traffic. Transit traffic was 36% above budget, imports 8% but unfortunately exports, dominated by sugar, were below budget by 22%. This level of performance has given hope that the year will be better than originally anticipated. We have also got to know that the demand for commodities is improving and have seen this through the rise in the export of coal through Maputo which had stopped in the past two years. The commodity prices have also increased from as low as US $ 50 to US $ 70, which is a big relief. The bulk commodities such as minerals are the ideal traffic for rail because rail strives on volumes and the available capacity is hungry for large quantities of cargo.

Safety of operations

During the quarter there were no major accidents that would have resulted in line closures. We are always concerned about accidents because they rob us capacity and are a financial drain. The effort of the SHEQ Section working with all departments is commendable, we have seen the weekly safety tips dissemination and I believe it is effective in raising awareness to each and every employee.

Safety is a state of mind, when you think safety in all activities you are very likely to complete whatever process without an incident. Accidents hit you unaware but if you are alert they shy away, if you drive a car try to think about arriving safely at your destination by driving in full alert and you will arrived safely but if your attention is divided by chatting with passengers, using the phone or being distracted by side attraction including lady human being the probability of an accident is very high. The other aspect in operating trains safely is preparedness for your trip or shift, you must be well rested and have peace at home. We appeal to family members to support Train Personnel by keeping down noise level of any kind in the home, be it music or the human loud speaker. We particularly encourage spouses or partners to be considerate and caring, know the right time to report incidents, for example, allow the shift worker to relax first, refresh and rest before bombarding him/her with depressing reports. When a shift worker is resting/sleeping you do not wake him/her up when Malume has come or Babe loMKHULU, just let those relatives wait until he wakes up at the end of his /her sleep/rest. Even the Mother-in-Law has no right to wake up Mkhwenyana whatever the issue (including lobola debt).

Competitive Advantage

With the 1st Quarter excellent performance from a projected loss to a surplus, we are fired to maintain this level of performance but it depends on you and me. Every employee must come prepared to give his/her best, be in good health physically and mentally. Maputo Harbour is always ready to slash off the business through Swaziland and if we relax they will topple us anytime. We must prevent train delays by reporting for duty on time and making sure trains do not lose time along the way. We must work safely at all times, think about safety and be safe.

Swaziland Railway at the Launch of the Joint Operations Center ( JOC)

SWAZILAND RAILWAY AT THE LAUNCH OF THE
JOINT OPERATIONS CENTER ( JOC) LOCATED IN MAPUTO,
MOZAMBIQUE

1.0 Background

In recent years Maputo Port and Matola Terminal have become heavily utilized by Mozambican exporters and importers as well as traders from South Africa and Swaziland. The high utilization necessitated better coordination of the flow of traffic into Maputo Port and Matola Terminal. It was observed that as the traffic grew in volume there were delays in the port caused by congestion of railway lines.

Swaziland was represented by the Honourable (Minister of Natural Resources and Energy) Jabulile Mashwama standing in for the held up Minister of Public Works and Transport, Pastor Lindiwe Dlamini. The CEO Mr Stephenson Ngubane, Assistant Director Operations Mr Vincent Mamba, Assistant Director Commercial and Marketing Mr Sandla Msibi and Corporate Communications Specialist Mr Sive Manana.

2.0 Objective of Setting up the Joint Operations Center

The objective was to bring all the role players to work on the same platform (desk) for better coordination of traffic flows thus reducing delays and avoiding congestion of the ports. All the traffic flows from local Mozambican international cargo, from Swaziland and South Africa need space, if there is no coordination, it was observed that everyone was negatively affected.

3.0 The Key Players

The key players are; Swaziland Railway (SR), Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), Mozambique Railways & Ports (CFM) and Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC).

The 4 organizations entered into an operational agreement to establish the Joint Operation Center, for better management of the train movements to the various port terminals. Each member (key player) will have staff working 24 hrs at this center, monitoring train movements and sharing information instantly because they are working from the same desk. The center is equipped with computer systems to aid the staff in monitoring traffic movement.

4.0 The Benefits

  • All the players will benefit by having the assurance that their traffic/cargo will be accommodated and will run on schedule.
  • Congestion of the port will be avoided through planned execution and coordination of the trains
  • Congestion of the railway yards will be avoided
  • Waiting time of trains will be reduced
  • Turnaround time of wagons and locomotives will be reduced
  • There will better management of incidents because all the players will share information instantly and discuss how to deal with those incidents that would cause delays
  • More traffic will be handled by the Maputo Port and Matola Terminal from the current 12 million to as high as 32 million in future years
  • If Maputo is well coordinated and receives high volumes of traffic, TRADERS from all three countries will be competitive with their products in the international market due to reduced transport and logistics costs.

Swaziland Case

Swaziland exports about 1.2 million tonnes of iron –ore per year through Maputo Port and 275,000 tonnes of sugar per year through the same port. These commodities are transported by rail. Swaziland Railway and the Swaziland exporters have a vested interest in the operations of Maputo Port and Matola Terminal. We would like to see our exports handled efficiently and without hindrance hence the involvement of SR in this cooperation agreement. We must protect our exporters to avoid being marginalized, if we were not participating certain decisions would be taken detrimental to us.

5.0 The Launch of the JOC in September 2014

The Swaziland Government Was invited to witness this concept because it came by in alignment with the provisions of the Transport Protocol which states that SADC Governments want to see the provision of seamless service, coordinated and integrated operations. The JOC is the perfect model in that it’s a center where everybody is, it is real and not by remote control or virtual. There is no communication gap between all the players who are to ensure smooth movement of goods in support of the 3 countries.

Since Railways are Government Agents in extending services to the economy it is fitting and appropriate that Representatives of Government witness this occasion.

By: S.Z. Ngubane
     Chief Executive Officer
     Swaziland Railway