A total of R70m has been reallocated to the department of community safety and transport. The 2025/26 second adjustment budget was tabled by standing committee on public accounts chairperson Elias Matshe, during a provincial legislature sitting on Tuesday (10/3), ahead of premier Lazarus Mokgosi’s response to the state of the province address debate.

The amount proposed before MPLs is intended to cover a payment backlog from April to December, stabilise the system, and prevent service delivery failures, said Matshe.

“We also need to indicate that during December and January, the department had to redirect some of its commuter budget to address urgent payment of salaries amounting to R36m.” 

Earlier this year, community safety and transport management established a contingency panel of operators to prevent disruptions in learner transport services after 90 operators had their contracts terminated. The current scholar transport contracts began in January 2024 when 449 operators were appointed.

However, over the past two years, roughly one in five operators were removed for breaching their service level agreements (SLAs).

Responding to a report by the SA Human Rights Commission (HRC) on Wednesday (11/2), MEC Wessels Morweng said the contraventions included inconsistent service, abandoning routes, operating unroadworthy vehicles, or reckless conduct that could endanger learners.

Last month, North West Transport Investment (NTI) workers protested outside the legislature, demanding payment of delayed wages after a technical error disrupted the payment process.

The repeated failures have sparked strong criticism from the Motor Industry Staff Association (Misa), which has called for accountability from the provincial government.

Misa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola condemned the situation, describing it as a disgrace. “It’s a disgrace that NTI employees cannot put food on their tables and vulnerable workers who depend on subsidised public transport are now paying four times more just to get to work.”

Meanwhile, steps are being taken to ensure compliance and address persistent late payments. The department has engaged Provincial Treasury to increase the scholar transport budget, which currently stands at R460m annually.

At least R610m is required to adequately service all routes and avoid starting a new financial year with accumulated debt, said Morweng.

Scholar transport budget

He emphasised the department’s annual scholar transport budget of R460m amounts to approximately R1.3bn over three years, as reflected in the commission’s report.

The HRC report did not come as a surprise but rather confirmed longstanding concerns, according to North West small bus operators council chairperson, Final Kgodumo. “The SAHRC report did not come as a surprise but a confirmation of what the South African National Small Bus Operators Council has been saying all along.”

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OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi dg