Durban - Transport bus operator Tansnat Durban has laid the blame for the current bus strike, which has left thousands of commuters stranded, on the city’s failure to pay the company what it is owed.
Since last week, the bus service has not been operating after drivers went on strike because they had not been paid their annual salary bonuses.
Speaking to The Mercury on Monday, Tansnat spokesman Vuyo Mkhize said the disruption had been anticipated but despite various attempts to address the situation the municipality had not budged.
He said contrary to the impression the city had created of bailing the bus company out, all money paid had been due to the company in terms of the operating agreement.
Approached for comment on Tansnat’s claims, the eThekwini Municpality declined to comment and referred to a statement sent earlier on Monday.
In that statement, the city’s Tozi Mthethwa said the Tansnat management and the municpality were working to resolve the labour-related issues that had disrupted the bus service in all areas.
Tansnat, which is owned by businessman Mandla Gcaba, is locked in a liquidation tussle with the city over R40.3 million the city says the company owes it.
The company has been running the city’s bus service since 2009, but has been struggling to keep the buses on the road.
The company has said its recurring funding problems were due to short payments from the city.
In a presentation to exco earlier this year, the company said it had been short-paid about R54.5 million between October 2010 and January 2014.
It was resolved by exco that the municipality’s auditors should reconcile the accounts with Tansnat.
But this was halted by the city’s legal department which advised against it because of the pending litigation.
The municipality recently announced it would set up an entity to operate the service, but it remains unclear when that will happen.
Mkhize said the city was hiding behind the liquidation application it had brought in the Durban High Court and did not want to abide by its contractual obligations.
He said Tansnat had failed to pay for the provident fund shortfall and the staff bonus of R18 million and R14 million respectively because the city had not implemented a fare increase this year and did not compensate the company for the alleged misuse of Muvo cards.
“This strike did not catch us unawares; we anticipated it and notified the city that their failure to honour the terms of the contract is putting us in a difficult position that would result in a disruption, but nothing was done.”
He said drivers also went on strike last year when they did not receive their bonuses, but the issue was resolved.
The Mercury has seen a letter Tansnat sent to eThekwini Transport Authority head Thami Manyathi last month, warning the city of a looming strike.
The letter states that the city’s failure to implement the fare increase and to deal with alleged Muvo card misuse will cause financial troubles for the company.
“We have, since the beginning of the year, advised the city of the consequences of not implementing a fare increase for the 2015 year.
“These consequences are severe for Tansnat Durban,” the letter reads.
The letter also said Tansnat had believed “the pressing issue” would be attended to.
Tansnat stated in the letter that despite the litigation, eThekwini still had to abide by the contract obligations between the two parties, which included the fare increase.
“The decision by the city’s legal department to default on the city’s obligation is having a serious impact on our business and we remain of the view that the city is contractually bound to implement the fare increase.
Speaking on the Muvo card issue, Mkhize said the city went on marketing campaigns and gave away Muvo cards, which were preloaded with trips, but the city had not paid the fares for those trips.
In August the city ran out of Muvo cards and holders, who account for 60% of the operator’s commuters, had yet to be provided with them.
The Mercury
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