The DA in Limpopo calls for the immediate establishment of a full, open, and transparent enquiry into Great North Transport (GNT). All further funding to this failing public bus company must be reconsidered pending the outcome of such enquiry and the implementation of meaningful governance reform.
Rather than declaring during her recent visit that GNT “cannot be allowed to fail”—signalling yet another bailout—Premier Ramathuba and the ANC must answer a more fundamental question: how and why did they allow GNT to collapse in the first place?
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.
At its peak, GNT 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:
- In 2013, LEDA initiated a fleet renewal plan;
- 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”. 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.
The SCOPA report adopted by the Limpopo Legislature last week describes GNT as a “fiscal black hole” and raises 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.
The DA has consistently led the call for accountability and action over the collapse of GNT. We reiterate: further funding is futile without first cleaning out its governance and administration through a full and transparent enquiry.