MAHIKENG, North West — The North West Department of Community Safety and Transport has issued a stern warning to defiant North West scholar transport operators, threatening contract termination and removal from the roads after more than 500 service providers failed to present their vehicles for mandatory safety inspections last week.
Out of more than 900 buses contracted to ferry learners to school across the province, only 431 were availed for the second annual vehicle inspection. This regulatory crackdown follows a January report by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), which highlighted the dire state of scholar transport in the region. The commission warned that learners’ lives were being put at risk, identifying numerous safety concerns such as unroadworthy buses, overloading, broken windows, and vehicles operating without valid license discs or permits.
Molefi Morule, the acting Head of Department for the North West Department of Transport, emphasized that these checks are a fundamental component of the service level agreement. “This is part of the service level agreement and ensuring that the buses that provide service to our people are roadworthy and we deliver services that are seamless,” Morule stated. He expressed deep disappointment over the low turnout, noting that only 431 of the over 900 contracted service providers submitted their buses for the official count.
Morule made it clear that punitive measures are imminent for non-compliant operators, signaling a shift from leniency to strict enforcement. “The time of explaining is over. We will then take the necessary interventions and whatever the contract allows us to do, we will fully do,” he warned. While contract termination remains a last resort, Morule stressed that the department has been explicit in its written correspondence about the consequences of failing to adhere to the regulations, leaving no room for further violations or excuses.
Despite the department’s firm stance, some operators cite severe financial constraints as a major barrier to compliance. Lerato Mahlakoleng, a local bus operator who successfully passed the compliance testing for her two buses last Thursday, highlighted that delayed payments are crippling the industry.
“The unfortunate part is that most of our members were not able to take their buses there because they could not afford it,” Mahlakoleng explained. She noted that many operators work up to 70 kilometers out of town and lack the funds for diesel to travel to and from the testing centers due to outstanding, delayed payments from the beginning of the compliance period through last week Friday.
In response to the widespread non-compliance, the department has announced that traffic officers will be actively deployed across the province’s roads to identify, monitor, and apprehend operators running non-compliant vehicles.
