MAHIKENG, North West — The North West Transport Investment is facing severe legislative backlash over its inability to pay worker salaries and maintain bus operations across its routes, despite receiving massive financial interventions. During a tense hearing in Mahikeng, the entity’s leadership struggled to justify the ongoing operational collapse and financial mismanagement to the Provincial Legislature Portfolio Committee on Community Safety and Transport Management.
The transit authority, which is fully owned by the provincial government and operates crucial routes across Gauteng and the North West, has been bleeding cash. Ntlhopeng Dikobe, the acting group CEO, admitted that the organization is trapped in a severe liquidity trap. He explained that without continuous government subsidies, there is zero cash flow. According to Dikobe, a massive funding gap driven by outstanding claims has forced the grounding of buses. This operational halt has directly resulted in missed paychecks for over a thousand employees and unpaid dues for contractors.
The financial hemorrhage is particularly glaring given that the provincial government has already pumped more than 565 million rand in bailout funds into the struggling entity. Furthermore, the company was placed under business rescue back in 2022. However, instead of a swift recovery, the move triggered years of bitter legal warfare between the provincial government and the appointed business rescue practitioner, effectively stalling any meaningful turnaround efforts.
Recently, however, the icy relationship appears to be thawing. North West Premier Lazarus Mokgotsi noted that the endless litigation under the Companies Act was severely delaying progress. He revealed that new discussions are now underway regarding a revised governance model and a potential equity partnership process.
Echoing this shift in tone, Thomas Samons, the entity’s business rescue practitioner, stated that the primary objective is now simply to get the buses moving again. Samons highlighted a highly lucrative, long-term contract with Khen that still has six years remaining, plus an extension period, which holds immense value for the province and its shareholders. He pointed out that the fleet was specifically grounded at the end of January due to the subsidy non-payment, making the release of those funds the absolute prerequisite for resuming operations.
Yet, this newfound harmony between the government and the practitioner has only deepened the committee’s confusion. Freddy Sonakile, representing the North West Provincial Legislature, sharply questioned the narrative of a sudden “marriage” of convenience. He pointed out a glaring contradiction: previous official reports explicitly stated the government’s intention to remove the practitioner. Sonakile warned that this sudden cooperative arrangement could severely backfire in court. By working together now, the government might inadvertently validate the practitioner’s legitimacy, undermining two years of legal arguments claiming he was not the rightful appointee.
Ultimately, the legislative portfolio committee concluded the session with significantly more questions than concrete answers regarding the entity’s future. To address the lingering doubts, the North West Transport Investment has been given a strict deadline to submit comprehensive written responses to the committee by the end of July.