Scholar Transport Disaster

Dear Editor

The DA in Mpumalanga is deeply concerned that scholars are being denied education, and kept away from schools across the province, because of a payment failure by the Provincial Government that has stopped scholar transport.

The Provincial Government has failed to pay Scholar Transport Operators across the province, on the 30-day terms which is required by National Treasury Regulations, for both February and March 2025. This is a terrible failure by the ANC government that is compromising the education of our Province’s children.

The DA outright rejects the ridiculous explanation from the Transport Department that the payment delays were due to “transition from the 2024/2025 financial year to the 2025/2026 financial year”. Every year the financial year ends, and another financial year starts – nothing about that causes two months of non-payment.

This is a catastrophic and unacceptable administrative failure, by senior officials, who must be held to account. The DA demands a full forensic and financial investigation into these payments to find who is responsible so that they can undergo strong disciplinary action.

The scholar transport set up in Mpumalanga is also part of the problem: The Department of Education does not manage scholar transport as provinces such as the Western Cape, Northern Cape, Free State, Gauteng and Limpopo do.

We believe the long-term solution to this problem lies in shifting responsibility for scholar transport to the Mpumalanga Department of Education. Scholar transport must be managed by the Department of Education instead of Public Works and Transport.

It is unacceptable that learners’ education is put at risk because of mismanagement and non-payment.

Regards

Annerie Weber: MPL
DA Spokesperson on Education: Mpumalanga Province