Limpopo – The DA in Limpopo has called for a full and transparent inquiry into the embattled state-owned bus company, Great North Transport (GNT), and for the suspension of funding pending the outcome of such an investigation.

MPL and DA spokesperson on Economic Development, Environmental and Tourism, Jacques Smalle, said the Limpopo provincial government must withhold funding until the root causes of the bus company’s collapse are known.

He said it was not enough for Premier Phophi Ramathuba to simply declare that GNT “cannot be allowed to fail”, which he said signalled another taxpayer-funded bailout.

Smalle said: “Unless the root causes of GNT’s collapse are acknowledged and decisively addressed, any attempt to revive it will simply throw more good money after bad—and enable further reckless governance.”

Smalle challenged Ramathuba and her party, the ANC, to explain how and why they allowed GNT to collapse in the first place. He insisted that bankrolling the failing entity would be tantamount to throwing money at the problem and enabling reckless governance to continue.

At its peak, the provincial government-owned bus company operated 540 buses across 200 routes and transported 36 million passengers annually.

“Today, just 23 operational buses remain, and its turnaround strategy lies in ruins. This collapse is not new. GNT was effectively placed under administration during the 2011–2015 national intervention into Limpopo due to severe financial mismanagement and dysfunction. Since the intervention was lifted, various turnaround attempts have failed to restore GNT’s financial and operational viability,” Smalled added.

The MPL accused the ANC-led Limpopo government of using delaying tactics to avoid accountability for the GNT maladministration and financial mismanagement. According to Smalle, the Limpopo Economy Development Agency (LEDA) initiated a fleet renewal plan in 2013, but nothing came of it.

“In 2017, the Board commissioned a formal turnaround strategy with external consultants; In 2021/22, LEDA launched another turnaround drive; and earlier this year, the President authorised a probe into corruption and maladministration at GNT—including irregular appointments, dubious contract extensions, wasteful expenditure, and misconduct by Board members and officials.”

Premier Ramathuba and the ANC can no longer deflect blame onto previous ANC administrations while claiming to be a “new broom”,” Smalle added.

“The ongoing dysfunction and corruption at GNT are the direct result of ANC governance—past and present. Alarmingly, efforts are already being made to divert R93 million earmarked for bus procurement to cover outstanding debts instead.”

Smalle said the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) report adopted by the Limpopo Legislature last week described GNT as a “fiscal black hole” and raised serious concerns about its viability.

“It highlights chronic governance failures tolerated by LEDET and LEDA, and the ongoing failure of Limpopo’s Executive to implement SCOPA resolutions—including repeated calls to halt funding to GNT,”

“SCOPA’s most recent report – as adopted by the legislature – clearly recommends a full enquiry into GNT and that further funding be withheld until governance reforms are implemented. Ominously, they also suggest that if provincial leadership fails to act, national intervention may be the only option left,” he maintained.

In her response, Ramathuba said she was disappointed to see the appalling state of GNT buses due to a lack of maintenance. She admitted that only 24 buses were operating, adding that her government was working towards solving the problem.

Ramathuba said her provincial government would not allow GNT to collapse or be liquidated.

African Times visited the bus company’s depot in Polokwane. Several broken buses remained parked, gathering dust. Sources said the operating buses often broke down due to mechanical failure.

“There is a need for a functional GNT because its non-functionality directly impacts the
livelihoods of ordinary people who have no alternative means of transport. Losing GNT would deepen the hardship of our working-class communities. That is why the government must intervene and work collectively to restore its viability and purpose,” said Ramathuba.