Bombshell minutes of a meeting held by Business for South Africa (B4SA) and Interim Rail Economic Regulator Capacity (IRERC) have revealed a plan by top private players in the rail sector to hijack state rail policy and redirect prized assets of Transnet into private hands, allegedly with the blessing of the office of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
At the centre of the controversial move is rail industry guru Jan-Louis Spoelstra, who, during a virtual meeting with other sector stakeholders on February 17, alleged that the Presidency backed IRERC, a team of ministerial advisers led by economists and experts, to dictate to the Transnet Rail Infrastructure manager (Trim) on the development of a policy document titled “Network Statement”, which sets out rules and tariffs for the use of the rail network by private operators.
The meeting, titled “B4SA Rail Operating Company Engagement – Precursor to the Virtual
Information Gathering”, attended by key rail industry stakeholders, was convened by B4SA, an alliance of business leaders partnering with government, amid heated debate over the network statement.
According to the minutes, Spoelstra claimed: “From the president’s office, they want IRERC to actually not just propose to Trim but to state what changes must come into the network statement… I even have the mandate from that office to rewrite portions… if Trim didn’t listen.”
The IRERC’s mandate is strictly advisory, as stated in the rail reform policy.
In addition to recommending reforms to the minister of transport, it reviews Trim’s compliance with policies and facilitates stakeholder input.
IRERC is neither empowered to rewrite nor directly enforce changes to the network statement.
Furthermore, IRERC reports to the minister and not to the president’s office. It is designed to operate as a consultative forum rather than an executive regulator.
Trim drafts and publishes the network statement – with a new version due to be finalised later in November.
The national rail policy assigns this role solely to Trim. While maintaining operational independence, Trim manages rail assets, allocates rail capacity, sets tariffs (subject to regulatory approval), and implements ministerial directives.
This is even though the Transnet board, the transport minister and relevant regulatory bodies, oversee Trim.
Yet the leaked minutes point to a stunning level of direct influence, with IRERC seemingly dictating terms.
The minutes describe a January meeting where business leaders briefed Ramaphosa on “problems” with the network statement, prompting an immediate ministerial order to Transnet to follow IRERC’s recommendations – no questions asked.
The level of intervention extends to enforcement, Spoelstra recounted, “The president’s intervention led to an instruction to Transnet by the minister…”
Barbaba Creecy, the transport minister, thus emerges as an active enforcer of business-driven policy, with the minutes documenting that the “minister of transport then instructed Transnet… to implement all that IRERC recommended.”
Ian Bird of B4SA said: “Any concerns that IRERC has… are taken up immediately by the minister and very robustly with the Transnet board and Trim executives. So I think we have a conduit through that process.”
Spoelstra also outlined plans to strip Transnet and Trim of control over infrastructure funding, shifting billions into a “special purpose vehicle” instead – sidestepping the state utility entirely.
Both the Department of Transport and Treasury reportedly back this move.
Transnet is not just being bypassed in decision-making – it is being sidestepped in the allocation of resources.
Spoelstra added: “Take pointers of what happens in the energy space… initially significant pushback from Eskom, but the president’s office just took the decisions… because the private sector was [enabled] to decide… And that is the process that we’re trying to follow.”
Accusations of monopolistic behaviour and resistance to reform were also made explicit.
“Transnet is really fighting against [rolling stock reform] … We cannot allow the dominance and the monopolistic operators to continue… The alternative…will require that Transnet Freight Rail must become a regulated entity because of their market dominance,” said Spoelstra.
Director at Gauteng Transcribers Prenita Govender confirmed the authenticity of the minutes.
Spoelstra told Sunday World that he had since terminated his membership of the IRERC and therefore could not respond to detailed questions.
“At the end of March 2025, I resigned from IRERC,” he said.
He said he had accepted an invitation from B4SA to attend a session to encourage participation in the IRERC information-gathering session on February 17, 2025.
“The aim of the session was to ensure constructive participation to see that the Railway Policy as well as the Roadmap for the Freight Logistics System in South Africa as approved by cabinet be supported.”
Creecy yesterday declined to comment on the “third-party pronouncements made in a meeting she did not mandate, sanction, or approve”.
According to spokesman Collen Msibi, she dismissed the claim of diverting Transnet funds into a special purpose vehicle as “devoid of truth”.
She said the planned reforms were creating the possibility for private sector participation in operations while the rail network remains state-owned.
Msibi added that after Creecy had access to an audio recording of the meeting, she immediately suspended Spoelstra, who days later resigned. He said the minister also engaged with Business Unity South Africa regarding the conduct of Bird, who allegedly facilitated the meeting.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said yesterday IRERC was requested to identify further refinements and areas in which its recommendations were not fully addressed in the final version of the network statement published in December 2024.
He said the Presidency had consistently ensured that policy decisions were made independently and in the interest of all South Africans.
“There was no instruction or directive from the president, or the Presidency, to anybody to undertake any action outside of the prescribed policy that is guiding the process,” Magwenya said.
