ANC inquiry into buses disingenuous

24 June 2019

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in eThekwini is not convinced by the ANC’s attempts to request answers over the Durban Transport buses used in last Tuesday’s march to ANC offices.

For years, the ANC has been using municipal buses to ferry people wherever they choose. Tansnat, who basically operates the bus system in eThekwini without paying the municipality any of the agreed charges, simply refuses to provide proof of payment every single time.

On Tuesday, the DA wrote to the City Manager, Sipho Nzuza to demand answers on this matter. He has forwarded the query to CFO Krish Kumar, but the information required is not yet forthcoming.

Our own investigations have found that 49 buses were used; 10 from the Umlazi depot and 39 from the Ntuzuma depot. As usual, their ordinary routes and commuters were abandoned in favour of the ANC.

Our well-placed sources also say that Tansnat is simply refusing to provide eThekwini Transport Authority with the names of those who apparently hired the buses or provide any proof that payment was made.

This is utterly insane. Those buses belong to the municipality, and thus the people of eThekwini, and not the ANC or Tansnat. They should be used to provide safe and effective public transport for the city’s residents, not cart around ANC members.

As of the last municipal budget statement report, Tansnat owed the municipality a staggering R371 million. This is for lease charges, depot charges, security and the like. Effectively, Tansnat is using the city’s assets and running a service without paying for any of it.

This makes the fact that they refuse to provide answers to the eThekwini Transport Authority even more astounding.

All attempts by DA leadership in eThekwini to bring finality to the Tansnat matter have been thwarted by the ANC. There is still no report forthcoming on the outcome of a long-outstanding mediation that took place at the end of May.

Against this backdrop, it is ridiculous for the ANC to try and now demand answers from the city. This is a mess that they have made and have benefited from for too long.

It is now time for the truth to come out. City Manager Sipho Nzuza must demand answers from Tansnat and there must be accountability for any wrongdoing.

ANC corruption and factionalism is destroying eThekwini, and people are tired of being neglected whilst the ANC fight amongst themselves.

Issued by Nicole Graham, EThekwini Caucus Leader, 24 June 2019