By OBAKENG MAJE
13 January 2025- The North West MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Wessels Morweng has directed that the payment of North West Transport Investment (NTI) salaries be expedited. In a media briefing held on 6 January 2025, Morweng undertook to ensure that the payment was processed within a week.
“Our interest as a shareholder representative is to ensure that the employees are being paid. Our team is looking at the possibilities of making sure that that is being done within ten days.
“We would also want to make sure that there is a solution to the non-payment of salaries. In an effort to ensure stability at the entity, the Chief Director for Corporate Services at the Department, Dr Ntlhopeng Dikobe, was seconded to NTI to oversee its revival as an accounting officer,” he said.
Morweng further said this was shortly after the court process, which the department had embarked upon to remove the BRP. He added that despite the intention to apply for a leave to appeal, which meant the status quo remains, Dikobe engaged the BRP to ensure that creditors, primarily of whom are the employees, are being paid.
“The resolution of the meeting is that an external payment processor will be engaged to ensure salaries are being paid within the period as stipulated by me. This is the same process that the Head of Department, Dr Hans Kekana had utilised earlier when the department was intervening in yet another payment imbroglio at the entity.
“It has also been agreed that all employees of the entity must go back to work. This includes workers who had been protesting in Mahikeng since the middle of December 2024,” said Morweng.
He said as a result of this intervention, those employees who had been in Mahikeng had since left. Morweng said the BRP will also prepare a report for the shareholder accounting for the work done including the money that has been appropriated for the entity as an intervention.
“We are committed to visit the NTI depots to engage with employees. This has also been earlier done by both Kekana and Dikobe,” he said.
The Guardian 