Eastern Cape scholar transport operator strike closes major roads

Commuters in several parts of the Eastern Cape were left stranded due to a strike by scholar transport operators. The operators under the scholar transport program suspended their services and blockaded several roads, claiming that they had not received their monies since January.

The operators have been transporting learners since the start of the 2024 academic year.

The scholar transport operators say they have been struggling to make ends meet due to non-payment by the transport department.

Some say their taxis have been repossessed as they are unable to afford monthly instalments. The taxi operators took their anger and frustrations to the street and closed major roads.

Commuters were left stranded and spent hours waiting for the roads to re-open.

“I was here at 7 o’clock. I was on the way to St Dominics Hospital to visit my wife because she is very ill there in hospital, but I’m still here now. I don’t know what to do,” laments one commuter.

“If I go to a diabetic coma, its on their conscience. Hopefully, they will allow an ambulance to take me to hospital. I mean this is playing with people’s lives. I don’t have an issue with people protesting, but its affecting me at the moment,” says another.

The provincial treasury allocated R725 million to the program for this financial year. The aim was to accommodate more learners into the program.

The provincial transport department says it is working around the clock to resolve the impasse.

Spokesperson for transport department, Unathi Binqose says, “We have picked up that some operators have issues with the South African Revenue Service (Sars). We have flagged those and relayed those messages to them asking them to attend to those challenges, so that we can be able to make payments. But it is worth noting that there Scholar Transport Operators who have received their payments, but we have to ensure that we get value for money. We verify invoices as they come to ensure we pay the right people.”

The taxi operators have vowed to intensify their demonstrations if the government is not bringing a solution to their plight.