Motor industry association demands government accountability as NTI crisis deepens

The Motor Industry Staff Association (MISA) has demanded that the North West government be held accountable for its “inability” to resolve the ongoing crisis at the North West Transport Investment (NTI).

According to the association, more than 1 500 employees of NTI, the embattled state-owned bus company, face a humanitarian crisis, while thousands of vulnerable commuters who depend on government-subsidised buses have once again been left stranded due to ongoing financial turmoil and the failure to keep the service running.

North West government ‘must be held accountable’

Martlé Keyter, MISA’s chief executive officer for operations, said provincial government must step up, announce a permanent solution, and be held accountable for its inability to resolve this issue after years of neglect.

“It is a disgrace that NTI employees cannot put food on their tables and that vulnerable workers who depend on subsidised public transport are now paying four times more just to get to work,” said Keyter.

One such commuter, domestic worker Johanna Moleka (58) from Hammanskraal, normally pays R230 per week to travel to Wonderboom in Pretoria.

Since January, she has been paying R120 per day for four taxis on the same route.

“How will I feed my children if all my money goes to transport? I am only eating pap. There is nothing we can do,” she said dejectedly.

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NTI employees not paid for months

NTI’s employees have endured months without pay, leading to devastating emotional and financial consequences.

Families have lost homes and cars, children forced out of school, with reports that some employees have taken their lives.

According to MISA, NTI’s debt has allegedly ballooned from R355 million to R1 billion during the business rescue period.

The first business rescue practitioner, Thomas Samons, was removed by the High Court for failing to pay salaries.

According to Sonja Carstens, MISA spokesperson, the current practitioner, Mahomed Mahier Tayob, has approached the North Gauteng High Court to intervene in the ongoing delays in payment.

The NTI was established in 1973 and, through its subsidiary Northwest Star, has long been the backbone of public transport in the North West Province, serving commuters since the times of the erstwhile Bophuthatswana homeland.

The parastatal has, however, been plagued by chronic mismanagement and financial irregularities and, by 2019, NTI faced R264 million in liabilities amid looting allegations.