Scholar transport providers ‘should register to ensure payment’

THE provincial transport department has called on all scholar transport service providers to urgently register with their database to monitor payments and swiftly pay all operators by tomorrow.

The department wants the service providers to submit their information in the Centralised Electronic Suppliers’ Database (CESD) as failure to do this might lead to unregistered service providers not being paid.

Department spokesman Ncedo Kumbaca said the department wanted to avoid a situation where some service providers might not be paid. “The department is under an obligation to pay the operators contracted to render scholar transport service by February 25.

“These operators cannot be paid if they are not registered with the suppliers’ database and this could have undesirable consequences,” Kumbaca said.

However, South Africa National Taxi Council (Santaco) provincial president Vuyani Mshiywa said there were still unfinalised processes with the scholar transport programme.

“How can you call on the providers to register on the database for payments when there are unfinalised matters, such as the issue of allocation in the East London area,” Mshiywa said.