FCAB5D8B 037B 4525 95AE CC16E41F0860
Eastern Cape roads blocked by striking Scholars Transport Operators. Picture Courtesy: SABC News/ Lerato Fekisi
Striking school transport operators left commuters and pupils stranded on Thursday morning in the Eastern Cape. School transport operators have been transporting pupils to and from school since schools opened in January 2024, and they claim that they have not received any payments.
The operators expressed that they are struggling to get by and some say that their taxis have been repossessed due to non-payment, as they have not been able to pay their monthly installments. Hence, they decided to put down their tools and embark on the strike.
Trucks and debris were used by school transport operators to block main roads across the Eastern Cape as a way of demonstrating their frustrations. Some of the roads that were affected by this strike were the N2, N6, R72 as well as R63. Traffic police officers were deployed to try and remove the roadblocks and monitor the strike.
Gabs Matshala, who is the provincial leader of the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO), said that the government’s failure to pay school transport operators had led to them losing their taxis, as most of them had their taxis repossessed because of missed monthly installments.
Matshala explained that some drivers went bankrupt and could no longer afford fuel because they had not been paid since January. In addition, he claimed that school transport operators have not been paid since December 2023, considering that the previous contract was canceled in November 2023.
According to the provincial spokesperson of the Department of Transport, Unathi Binqose, on Wednesday Lomex Sisilana, who is the Department’s Deputy Director-General, had a meeting with the taxi bosses to try and find a solution to this issue. In addition, he said the department is working tirelessly to ensure that by the 15th of May the backlog of unprocessed invoices is cleared, and the department will make sure that all operators with legitimate claims receive their salaries.
The Premier of the Eastern Cape, Oscar Mabuyane, said operators will start receiving their payments on Friday, and they are working together with the Department of Education to ensure that all contracted operators get their money on time, and they intend on making sure that the system is efficient by improving it.
Mabuyane committed himself to helping resolve this matter as they had resolved more issues that previously challenged the economy.
About the Author
