- The DA is deeply concerned by reports that Great North Transport has issued a Section 189 notice initiating consultations on possible retrenchments.
- MEC Tshitereke Matibe must urgently disclose the full extent of the proposed restructuring and its impact on workers and commuters.
- Employees must not be made to pay the price for years of financial mismanagement and governance failures under the ANC.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Limpopo is deeply concerned by reports that Great North Transport (GNT) has issued a Section 189 notice in terms of the Labour Relations Act, initiating consultations on possible retrenchments, and calls on the MEC for Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, Tshitereke Matibe to urgently appear before the LEDET Portfolio Committee.
Matibe, the Limpopo Economic Development Agency (LEDA) as GNT’s Shareholder, and GNT’s interim accounting authority must explain:
- The financial and operational reasons for the proposed retrenchments;
- The alternatives considered to avoid or minimise job losses;
- The number of employees and depots that may be affected; and
- The potential impact on commuters who rely on GNT services across Limpopo.
For years, the DA has warned that GNT’s deteriorating financial position, operational instability and governance failures would ultimately threaten both the sustainability of the company and the livelihoods of its employees.
Despite these warnings, the ANC-led provincial government has repeatedly assured the public that GNT was being stabilised through bailouts, fleet renewal and turnaround interventions.
MEC Matibe must explain this contradiction. He must tell the people of Limpopo what has changed, whether the turnaround strategy has failed, why the Legislature has not yet been informed, and how the company reached a point where jobs may now be at risk.
The MEC must also disclose whether the proposed restructuring forms part of a properly costed recovery plan, or whether retrenchments are being pursued as a short-term response to deeper financial and governance failures.
Employees must not be made to bear the consequences of decisions over which they had no control.
Retrenchment must be a measure of last resort. The consultation process with organised labour must be conducted with full financial disclosure and genuine consideration of every reasonable and viable alternative that could preserve jobs while restoring the long-term sustainability of the company.
The people of Limpopo deserve a public transport system that is stable, properly governed and capable of serving communities without placing the burden of the ANC’s institutional and governance failures on its employees.