The SAHRC released the report on Monday (19/1), confirming rights violations within the province’s scholar transport programme. The report points these failures directly to the North West departments of education, community safety and transport management.

It exposed failures in the North West scholar transport programme, mentioning weak oversight, poor enforcement, and governance lapses across several government departments.

Thousands of qualifying learners are deprived of transport, forcing them to walk long distances, arrive late, or drop out of school entirely, according to the report. If they do have transportation, most services use overcrowded, unroadworthy cars that break down frequently.

Commissioner Nomahlubi Kwinana targeted the department of education, the department of community safety and transport management, and the Provincial Treasury, stating they failed to provide adequate financial oversight. “Weak oversight and enforcement mechanisms have resulted in non-compliant service providers operating without consequences,” said Kwinana. 

“There have also been corruption and procurement irregularities, including misrepresentation by service providers and failures in contract management. Budgetary constraints and payment failures, including delayed or non-payment of service providers, directly undermine service delivery and safety compliance.”

Strict orders, tight deadlines

In an attempt to address these constitutional violations, the SAHRC issued strict orders with tight deadlines.

• Within 60 days, the community safety and transport management, and the education department must submit a progress report detailing the number of learners now provided with transport, the status of roadworthiness testing, and consequence management measures taken against officials and service providers. They must also produce a costed remedial plan to address fraud and the use of untested vehicles.
• Within 90 days, the departments must establish a functional complaints call centre with whistleblower protection, eradicate all outstanding payment backlogs, and ensure every learner requiring transport is accommodated.
• Within 180 days, the provincial learner transport policy must be amended to close gaps regarding eligibility, driver vetting, safety standards, and the regulation of private scholar transport.

“This report comes at the right time, especially when, as the committee, we’ve been saying some of these things,” said North West transport committee chairperson Freddy Sonakile.

“We’ve been making recommendations and resolutions around this matter since 2024, and the report complements the work we’ve been doing. But it will need serious enforceability.”

This is where the legislature will come in to assist the commission with its report, as they have indicated some of the challenges related to enforceability and what they can and can't do, he said.

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OFM News/Zenande Mpame mvh