The North West Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Transport Management has threatened to open a criminal case and invoke arrest powers against the Business Rescue Practitioner for the beleaguered North West Transport Investments (NTI). The move follows the practitioner’s failure to appear before the committee on Wednesday, 03 December 2025, reportedly due to illness.
This is not the first time the practitioner, identified as Mr. Sammons, has been absent. The committee revealed he had previously refused an invitation, leading to a formal summons being served through his legal representative. The hearings have been postponed to a date before the end of December, though the exact day is still to be announced.
The NTI, which operates commuter transport between Gauteng and the North West, is embroiled in crisis after failing to pay its employees for an extended period. The committee’s summons is part of a probe into the entity’s finances and its compliance with the law.
Committee members expressed intense frustration during the session. One legislator stated, “We can’t be playing with the lives of the people anymore.” They directed a message to law enforcement officials present, saying, “If people do not come we are going to ask you to effect arrest in terms of the powers and privileges… Come prepared.”
The core of the inquiry focuses on the misuse of public funds. “We want answers on what happened to the money of the people of the Northwest. Straightforward,” a committee member said. “Answers to what happened to the money of the people of this province and South Africa. But secondly, why there’s no compliance with the law.”
The committee also raised procedural concerns, questioning whether there were challenges in locating the practitioner or other parties at their workplaces or residences. “We are not here to play. We are not joking when we come here. They must respect our time,” a member emphasized, highlighting their responsibilities as elected representatives.
The human cost of the NTI’s financial collapse was a central theme. “We are sitting with workers who are not going to have a nice Christmas because they are not paid,” a committee member noted, “and we need a man who is in charge of the funds of this entity to come and account.”
The standoff occurs against a backdrop of ongoing legal battles between the Department of Transport Management and the business rescue practitioner. The committee has now signalled a dramatic escalation, moving from summonses to the threat of criminal charges and arrest to compel cooperation and accountability.