Pupils stuck as govt fails to pay bus owners

Mpumalanga education department spokesperson Gerald Sambo referred Sowetan to the department of public works, roads and transport. “We don’t want to be seen fighting. [This is one] government,” said Sambo.

Public works, roads and transport spokesperson Bongani Dhlamini said they acknowledged the concerns raised by the operators over non-payment. “There are outstanding payments due to the cut-off date of the financial year, which concluded in March,” he said.

“We appreciate the operators’ patience during this transition period as we implement new financial systems. We assure all service providers that payments are being processed as the new systems  started running as from [Tuesday].”

Dhlamini said the department would prioritise settling the outstanding payments.

SGB chairperson at Mkhulu Combined School in Middelburg Skhumbuzo Mabaso said the government was failing their children, and that they were disappointed. “This is not the first time bus owners had to stop work this year. They did so in January due to non-payment as well.

“Our plan for this school is to improve from our 89% matric pass rate from 2024 … but the government is pressing down to our endeavours by not paying bus owners. It’s a shame for our government to abandon learners like this,” he said.

Pupils at Cyril Clarke Secondary School in Mataffin Trust, Mbombela, were seen playing outside. “We do not have anything to do because all the learners using scholar transport did not come to school,” said a pupil.

Meanwhile, Ekurhuleni roads and transport MMC  Andile Mngwevu said they have received “very concerning complaints” from scholar transport operators regarding acts of intimidation and interference from members of taxi associations. “This is completely not acceptable,” he said, adding that metro police officers had been deployed to monitor the situation in Kempton Park and Tembisa. 

Municipal spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said they would investigate the matter. – Additional reporting by Nandi Ntini

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