Government says it’s committed to creating a competitive and efficient freight transport system in South Africa as a matter of priority. This includes allowing third-party access to South Africa’s rail system, finalising the whitepaper on national rail policy, and establishment of a single transport economic regulator. It adds, however, that it is not necessary to wait for the establishment of the regulator or the finalisation of the national rail policy to allow third-party access to the country’s rail network, said Sean Phillips, head of the National Treasury’s Operation Vulindlela unit, which is tasked with accelerating structural reforms. The African Rail Industry Association says the current target date for enabling third-party operators in the freight sector was August 2022, with ongoing efforts underway to accelerate the timeframe put on the table by Transnet. We speak to the CEO of the African Rail Industry Association (ARIA), Mesela Nhlapo.