Provincial oversight officials have escalated pressure on the North West’s transport and safety authorities after a detailed performance review exposed systemic failures and a deepening crisis at the province’s flagship public transport entity.
The Portfolio Committee on Community Safety and Transport Management, led by Chairperson Freddy Sonakile, concluded a rigorous engagement with the Department of Community Safety and Transport Management (COSATMA) to assess its third and fourth-quarter performance for the 2025/26 financial year. The session revealed multiple programmes that missed critical annual targets, prompting legislators to demand an immediate, comprehensive corrective action plan.
Committee members probed a broad spectrum of operational matters: the rollout of the Road Rangers Programme, the status of the department’s security tender, the integration of the former Atamelang Bus Company into the Ngaka Modiri Molema district bus contract, strategies to curb stock theft, progress on infrastructure development, outstanding litigation files, and the functionality of weighbridge operations province-wide.
While expressing serious concern over unmet deliverables, the committee highlighted two bright spots: Programme 2 (Provincial Secretariat for Police Services) and Programme 4 (Transport Regulation) both achieved 100% of their annual performance targets despite operating under significant budgetary pressure. Legislators stressed that accelerating the filling of long-vacant posts remains essential to strengthening institutional capacity and restoring reliable service delivery.
NTI Operational Freeze Triggers Legislative Urgency
Attention then turned to the critical state of North West Transport Investment (NTI), the provincial entity tasked with managing public commuter transport. A status briefing confirmed that NTI has been completely non-operational since January 2026, after subcontractors repossessed buses due to persistent payment arrears.
The committee received an update on legal proceedings involving Business Rescue Practitioner Thomas Sammons, who was recently granted condonation by the Supreme Court of Appeal. Despite this development, lawmakers took a firm position: they will not endorse any proposal to return NTI to the business rescue process, citing the approach’s consistent failure to deliver stability or protect vulnerable workers.
“We will not support any move to reach a settlement with individuals who failed to rescue the entity, particularly when employees’ salaries remain unpaid,” declared Chairperson Sonakile. “The continued delays in resolving workers’ salary issues are not only frustrating but constitute a betrayal of the employees who have borne the brunt of this crisis.”
The committee has directed that a concrete, date-bound plan for settling all outstanding employee salaries be submitted within one week.
High-Level Summit and Legal Strategy Proposed
To break the impasse, the committee resolved to urgently convene a strategic session with the Premier of the North West, together with the Members of the Executive Council for Provincial Treasury and for Community Safety and Transport Management. The goal: to align political leadership, financial oversight, and operational management on an actionable recovery pathway for NTI.
Legislators also mandated that all viable legal options be pursued to implement the Executive Council’s prior resolution to approach the courts for NTI’s formal removal from the business rescue process.
“The continued appointment of Business Rescue Practitioners and the prolonged uncertainty surrounding the entity cannot be condoned,” Sonakile stated. “We cannot continue dealing with the same individuals for more than four years while workers, commuters and economic opportunities in our province suffer. To do so would amount to political cowardice of the highest order.”
Remembering a Voice for Workers
The proceedings concluded with a moment of reflection as the committee extended sincere condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Ingrid Masothe, a committed shop steward for the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) at NTI, who recently passed away.
“We pray that her passing, and those of others who have departed during this difficult period, will not be in vain as efforts continue to restore stability and dignity to the entity and its employees,” Sonakile said, acknowledging the profound human impact of the institutional turmoil.
With public trust and commuter mobility at stake, the North West Legislature has affirmed its commitment to sustained, results-driven oversight. Follow-up sessions are already scheduled to track implementation of the corrective measures now demanded from COSATMA and its affiliated entities.