Gauteng scholar transport crisis: Department says it’s still working on unpaid invoices

Thousands of pupils in Gauteng who depend on the subsidised transport system have been left stranded, with many unable to attend classes. This follows a strike by the subsidised scholar transport service providers who have refused the provincial education department’s request to resume operations, leaving thousands of pupils without transport to school for a second week. The strike stems from non-payment from the department.

Operators have reportedly not been paid for more than three months. The operators have been on strike since last Monday over unpaid invoices. Department spokesperson Steve Mabona acknowledged the severity of the situation.

“We are actually concerned as a department that the transport operators continue to be on a tools down. They are not ferrying our children to schools. We are highly impacted, looking at the absenteeism in some of our schools,” he said in a video shared by theSABC.

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Mabona added that the department has been in ongoing negotiations with the operators. The department has indicated that payment processes are being finalised, with officials working to resolve the outstanding invoices. “We have paid December, so we are finalising that process.

But we need to bring them closer to make them understand on the commitment,” Mabona explained. According to Mabona, the negotiations include the timeline for paying the outstanding amounts and how the department will interact with the service providers going forward. “Most of the schools that rely on transport, they are affected,” he confirmed. However, he did not reveal the extent of the crisis.

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