The Democratic Alliance in Limpopo has written to the Chairperson of the Limpopo Portfolio Committee on Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, calling for an urgent meeting with the management and board of Great North Transport (GNT) to interrogate the financial sustainability, effectiveness, and integrity of GNT’s Turnaround Strategy.
In particular, we call for the purchase and leasing of buses, as well as the outsourcing of routes, to be subjected to full scrutiny, to determine whether these transactions are in the best interests of GNT, can withstand oversight, and are above reproach.
In our letter, we also call for the executive and board of the Limpopo Economic Development Agency (LEDA), GNT’s shareholder, to be present at the meeting.
As the DA, we have received worrying representations from various interested and affected parties alleging impropriety. Corrupt and malfeasant governance practically collapsed GNT, were it not for repeated bailouts from the fiscus. We simply cannot afford, and will no longer accept, a situation where current attempts to turn around and recapitalise GNT are once again mired in inefficiency and corruption.
We have also received reports that the outsourcing of routes is rendering GNT staff, including its drivers, maintenance personnel, and some depot operations redundant. This further calls into question the coherence, objectiveness, and rationality of the entity’s actions.
We urge the Committee to hold the executive and board of GNT to account, and to monitor, investigate, and enquire into GNT’s purchasing and leasing of buses, as well as the outsourcing of routes. We cannot allow further bailouts to sustain ongoing failure.
The DA stands for good, ethical, and corrupt-free governance.