The Motor Industry Staff Association (MISA) has welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to authorise a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) probe into the troubled North West Transport Investments (NTI), saying those responsible for the collapse of the public bus service must be held accountable.
MISA, which represents more than 80,000 workers in the retail motor industry, said the investigation was long overdue and should result in more than findings, with public money lost through alleged wrongdoing recovered and affected workers protected.
The SIU has been authorised to investigate allegations of serious maladministration, corruption and irregular expenditure involving NTI, its wholly owned subsidiary North West Star (NSL), and the Atteridgeville Bus Service (ABS).
The probe covers several procurement and contracting processes, including fuel supplied by Zentrafor Fuel, trading as FuelU, vehicle rental services and commuter bus services provided under a July 2023 subcontractor agreement.
The SIU will also investigate the processing, approval and payment of claims submitted by Tansanat Coachlines, Ziggy Investments CC and their joint venture.
For MISA, the investigation comes after thousands of commuters were left without a reliable public transport service, with the union estimating that about 3.6 million people were affected.
Many of those commuters were workers who relied on NTI buses to get to their workplaces.
MISA chief executive officer for operations Martlé Keyter said the consequences of the collapse had been particularly severe for working people.
“NTI was run with public money, and the public deserves to know where that money went,” Keyter said.
She said workers had effectively paid twice for the failure of the service, first through their taxes and then by having to find alternative and more expensive transport to get to work.
MISA said the collapse had placed an additional financial burden on workers who were already struggling with the cost of living.
The union also raised concerns about the position of NTI employees, saying the company reportedly owes more than R224 million in unpaid salaries and benefits.
It called for workers affected by the crisis not to be forgotten while the SIU conducts its investigation.
MISA said accountability must ultimately translate into consequences for those responsible, recovery of money lost by the state and a functioning public transport system.
“An investigation is only the beginning. Those responsible must be held accountable and the money owed to workers and lost to the state must be recovered,” Keyter said.
The SIU will examine whether the procurement processes complied with applicable legislation and National Treasury and provincial Treasury guidelines.
It will also investigate the actions of the business rescue practitioner appointed in July 2022, their agents and NTI employees, including whether individuals or entities received undue benefits.
The unit has been empowered to recover financial losses suffered by NTI or the state if corruption or maladministration is established.
MISA has called on the SIU to conduct the investigation swiftly and transparently while urging the Gauteng and North West provincial governments to ensure that bus services remain operational.
Since August 16, the two provincial governments have implemented a phased resumption of NTI bus services in Hammanskraal and surrounding areas in Tshwane.
The union said the service must not be allowed to collapse again because commuters depend on it to reach their workplaces.
The SIU can refer evidence of criminal conduct uncovered during its investigation to the National Prosecuting Authority for possible prosecution.
It can also institute civil proceedings in the High Court or Special Tribunal to address wrongdoing arising from corruption, fraud or maladministration.
For MISA, the investigation represents an opportunity to establish what went wrong at NTI and ensure that the consequences are not once again carried by ordinary workers and commuters.
