MAHIKENG, North West — The North West Transport Investment crisis continues to escalate as the state-owned entity struggles to explain the ongoing collapse of its bus services and the persistent failure to pay employee salaries. Appearing before the Provincial Legislature Portfolio Committee on Community Safety and Transport Management in Mahikeng, officials faced intense scrutiny over the deteriorating situation despite massive state intervention.
Wholly owned by the North West Provincial Government, the NTI provides crucial public transit routes across the North West and Gauteng provinces. To keep the entity afloat, the government has injected over 565 million rand in bailout funds and appointed a business rescue practitioner (BRP) following the entity’s placement under business rescue in 2022. Unfortunately, financial and operational conditions have only worsened since the intervention.
Ntlhopeng Dikobe, the NTI’s acting group CEO, highlighted the severity of the financial strain during the committee hearings. He explained that the entity is currently trapped in a severe cash flow crisis, relying entirely on government subsidies to function. According to Dikobe, a massive funding gap created by outstanding claims has grounded buses across all routes. Consequently, thousands of employees are currently going without their salaries, and contractors are missing critical payments due to them.
For years, recovery efforts were heavily paralyzed by protracted legal battles between the provincial government and the appointed business rescue practitioner. However, North West Premier Lazarus Mokgotsi indicated that the hostility may finally be cooling. While acknowledging that the ongoing court battles cause severe delays under the Companies Act, Mokgotsi noted that discussions are finally opening up regarding a new governance model and a potential equity partnership process.
Thomas Samons, the appointed NTI Business Rescue Practitioner, stated that the immediate focus remains on getting the bus fleet back on the road. Samons pointed out that the NTI holds a highly lucrative contract with Khen that still has six years remaining, plus an extension period, which holds immense value for both the North West province and its shareholders. He clarified that the fleet was abruptly halted at the end of January strictly due to the non-payment of subsidies, emphasizing that releasing these funds is the critical key to restarting operations.
Despite the claims of a renewed “marriage” and cooperation between stakeholders, the portfolio committee remained highly skeptical of the turnaround. Freddy Sonakile of the North West Provincial Legislature questioned the contradiction between the new cooperative stance and previous reports indicating the government’s desire to remove the BRP. Sonakile raised concerns that this new working arrangement could legally be used against the government, effectively validating the BRP’s position after two years of intense litigation arguing he was not the legitimate practitioner.
Ultimately, the legislature portfolio committee was left with more questions than answers regarding the entity’s long-term viability. The NTI has been instructed to furnish the committee with comprehensive responses to these lingering concerns by the end of July.