Scholar transport set to grind to halt due to taxi strike

Despite a R90m cash injection into scholar transport at the beginning of 2024, thousands of pupils in the Eastern Cape will be forced to walk to school from Thursday morning as taxi operators go on strike due to the government’s failure to pay them for the past four months.

This comes after a group of angry taxi operators stormed the provincial transport department’s supply chain offices in West Bank on Tuesday demanding their payments be paid with interest.

The group then convened at the Cambridge community hall where taxi operators decided to go on a strike.

The provincial government has budgeted R725m to transport 103,000 pupils for the 2024/2025 financial year.

SA National Taxi Council B provincial leader Gabs Mtshala said most operators had lost their vehicles to repossession due to the government’s nonpayment. 

He said some operators had gone bankrupt.

“Drivers have stopped working due to nonpayment of salaries. Some operators do not have money for fuel.

“Operators have not been pain since January.

“Considering that the previous contract was cancelled in November implies that they haven’t been paid since December 2023.

“We are now starting May, a month when we were supposed to be processing April invoices.

“This implies that April might be paid in June or July,” he said.

A taxi operator, who asked not to be named, said they had been patient for too long with the department.

“The supply chain director came to meet us there and said we will be paid, they just have a glitch in their system. Why for so long?

“We asked them how long does their system take to get fixed because it has been four months.

“It seems like every time we are meant to get paid we should be striking.

“They said they will pay us this week, but nothing has happened.

“They said they are waiting for the start of the financial year, they are now campaigning but they say there’s no money.

“We will not be transporting any children this week until our money is paid in full with interest.

“Even last year we weren’t paid in full, we still have pending outstanding fees from last year.

“During the budget speech, we hear there is money allocated for us, but when it is time to pay, we hear stories.”

In February, there was an uproar by pupils and parents after Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane admitted that his provincial government did not have enough money to pay for 40,000 pupils to be taken to school.

This forced the provincial executive council to inject an interim budget relief of R90.37m in the scholar transport programme.

Bhisho said the relief would enable the department of transport to provide scholar transport services to pupils for the year, including the payment of accruals of just more than R11m.  

Transport department provincial spokesperson Unathi Binqose said the department’s deputy director-general, Lomex Sisilana,had  met the taxi bosses on Wednesday to try resolve the matter.

Binqose said they were working to clear the backlog of unprocessed invoices by May 15.

“We are working around the clock to ensure that all operators with legitimate claims are paid.

“It is worth noting that there are a lot of them that have been paid already,” he said.

He said the department was considering having different subsidy rates for taxi operators ferrying pupils on gravel roads to those that operated on tarred roads.

Binqose said discussions would continue.

Meanwhile, Mtshala said they were unhappy with the reduced kilometres for pupils to qualify for scholar transport.

“Kilometres have been reduced and are not even the same as those on the tender document.

“When complaining, operators are asked to submit affidavits and wait for a verification of kilometres to be performed.

“This is a process that takes a long time and it ends up being non-refundable.

“Moreover, kilometres were verified when the document was developed so it is not understandable how it can be done again,” he said.

Taxi operators will convene another meeting in East London on Monday.

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