School transport providers in the Eastern Cape will not resume services until they are paid. On Monday operators told education officials that they could no longer rely on their services as they await payment from the Department of Transport.
The timing of the strike is particularly concerning as thousands of learners in the province are currently writing end-of-year examinations. This includes grade 12 learners participating in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations.
Acting Director of Scholar Transport Kayise Conjwa says the transport department encountered a challenge during the processing of payments to transport operators for October. This challenge meant that many drivers were not paid for their services.
“Not everyone was paid because of a challenge, systematic problem that we encountered. But as of today, the department has managed to request a special run from the provincial treasury and everyone who has not been paid will be paid in two days" declared Conjwa.
Every operator will be getting their monies in their bank accounts on Friday
Malibongwe Mtima from the Eastern Cape provincial education department says they are assessing the impact of the strike.
Mtima says the news of the strike came as a surprise to individuals in the education department. This is because scholar transport is the responsibility of the transport department and the education department.
“We are hoping that it will be addressed in earnest so that everything can go back to normality, should it escalate it may have a dire impact on us” declared Mtima.
A parent whose child is affected by the strike says learners rely on these operators to get to school. Without these operators, they fear learners may be attacked on their journey to school. Many of the learners are young and parents are calling on government officials to resolve the matter.
