By OBAKENG MAJE
6 January 2025- The employees of embattled North West Transport Investment (NTI) said they had a grim festive season. This comes after the North West Department of Community Safety and Transport Management through its entity, NTI failed to pay their salaries.
The aggrieved employees spent their Christmas and New Year holidays in buses next to the North West Provincial Legislature (NWPL) in an attempt to get attention of those in power.
The South African Communist Party (SACP) in North West said it is utterly disappointed that workers at the NTI company have still not received their salaries. The SACP provincial spokesperson, Jeffrey Lesie said, according to the workers, this has been the situation for several months now.
“While many other workers were on their festive break, these workers and their families were left stranded. The NTI is an important provincial state-owned entity, which provides bus transportation for working-class communities in parts of the North West and Gauteng.
“Unfortunately, due to maladministration, the board was dissolved and the company was placed under business rescue. To add salt to the wounds of the workers and communities that use this service, things have only worsened under the Business Rescue Practitioner (BRP) since his appointment two years ago,” said Lesie.
He further said The BRP has sold company assets, workers’ salaries have not been prioritised, transfers given to the BRP from the government and revenue from ticket sales are unaccounted for. Lesie added that they call on the provincial government to appeal the recent court decision that nullified the government’s decision to terminate the BRP’s contract.
“Secondly, we call on the North West Department of Community Service and Transport Management to ensure that the R70 million allocated for workers’ salaries is given to workers through a separate account so that BRP does not misuse it, as recommended by the North West Portfolio Committee.
“We condemn the attempt to collapse this important company of our people by greedy individuals such as the BRP. We applaud the work done by the Portfolio Committee and Provincial Public Accounts Committee,” he said.
Lesie said they call on the law enforcement agencies to act speedily on the criminal case that the Portfolio Committee has instituted against the BRP. He said lastly, the party stands with the workers and appreciates all their efforts in trying to save the NTI.
“We call for the unity of the workers in the NTI regardless of union affiliation. Only through the efforts of the workers and the intervention of the government that this important instrument of transportation for working-class communities can be saved,” said Lesie.
Meanwhile, the North West MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Wessels Morweng will update the media today regarding the NTI issue. Morweng said he has come to note that some NTI employees have been protesting near the NWPL precinct since the middle of December.
“Reportedly, over non-payment of salaries. The challenges at the entity are not new and have recently been exacerbated by the failure of the accounting authority to pay employees’ salaries.
“As the shareholder representative, we will be addressing the media to clarify the department’s position, as well as to provide a way forward in bringing some stability to the entity,” he said.
The Guardian 