- Liquidation of GNT has been averted, but the crisis deepens.
- This desperate intervention was made without any credible turnaround strategy being presented.
- The DA is unconvinced by turnaround promises.
The DA in Limpopo remains unconvinced that the decision to repurpose R93 million — originally earmarked for new buses — towards operational expenditure to avert the liquidation of Great North Transport (GNT), will be enough to save the entity without a complete overhaul of its governance structures and the adoption of a credible turnaround plan.
On the evening of 30 July — just hours before the scheduled finalisation of a liquidation application in the Polokwane High Court the next day (31 July) — an urgent meeting of the LEDET Portfolio Committee was convened. The Limpopo Provincial Executive, represented by MEC Matibe, pleaded with the committee to approve the redirection of the R93 million to cover operational costs in a last-minute effort to avoid liquidation.
Had this funding not been redirected, GNT would in all likelihood have been liquidated — the result of decades of mismanagement, malfeasance, and corrupt governance under the ANC in Limpopo.
At stake is a vital public transport service for vulnerable communities and the livelihoods of GNT employees. Yet this desperate intervention was made without any credible turnaround strategy being presented, leaving the structural crisis entirely unresolved.
The DA has long exposed the collapse of GNT at the hands of the ANC-led provincial government, and consistently called for decisive action to address the root causes of its financial, operational, and governance failures.
For years, good money has been thrown after bad — poured into what recent SCOPA reports have described as a “black hole” — delaying the hard decisions and dodging accountability, while the crisis only worsened.
This week, GNT reached a critical tipping point: either redirect capital funding to boost immediate cashflow and avoid liquidation, or allow the court application for non-payment of R6.4 million to proceed. A choice between two flames on the same burning candle — both leading to collapse. The inevitable consequence is fewer new buses, reduced income potential, and continued financial instability.
Unless the systemic failures, corruption, and inefficiencies at the heart of GNT’s decline are urgently addressed, the ANC-led administration will simply find itself facing the same crisis again.
We also question whether the ANC-led provincial administration have followed the correct procedures as set out in the PFMA and Treasury regulations in converting a capital grant into operational cash.
The DA takes no pleasure in GNT’s collapse. But without fundamental reform and the removal of those responsible, this week’s intervention has merely delayed D-Day — not averted it.
The sad truth is now undeniable: the ANC cannot fix what it broke. To do so would require dismantling its own patronage network — something it lacks the political will to do.
The DA will continue to fight for the recovery of GNT and for a return to clean, ethical, and accountable governance that truly serves the people of Limpopo. Our communities deserve better — and the DA will not rest until they get it.