MEC Bheki Ntuli officially opens Mthonjaneni Bus Depot in Melmoth

MEC Bheki Ntuli officially opens Mthonjaneni Bus Depot in Melmoth

October 10, 2019 • Transport

The KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Mr Bheki Ntuli officially opened the Mthonjaneni Bus Depot in Melmoth today (10 October 2019).

Ntuli who was accompanied by the District Mayor of King Cetshwayo Crll Nonhle Mkhulisi, the Mayor of Mthonjaneni Crll Biyela and the public transport leadership commenced his day by officially opening SANTACO Regional offices where operators will conduct administrative work to ensure that they professionalize the industry.

The MEC and his entourage went on to officially open the Mthonjaneni Bus Depot which is under the ownership of the Mthonjaneni Bus Services.

This bus company was formed by taxi operators who formed a cooperative with the intent of growing from taxi operations to bus operations. Their efforts were then supported by the Department of transport through their empowerment programme aligned to the government’s Radical Socio-Economic Transformation aimed at including the previously disadvantaged African operators.

Through the Transformation of Subsidized Public Transport (TSPT), the programme seeks to achieve 70% sector representation which in turn will create sustainable and permanent employment opportunities. Mthonjaneni Bus Depot was built at a cost of R1, 75 million and employs well over 36 permanent employees. It also has a mechanical section where all their 14 busses are services by in-house professional mechanics.

The operators we put through the departmental incubation programme which provides training on contracts, financial management and general business management. The estimated subsidy across eleven bus companies in the financial year 2019/2020 is approximately R272 million and companies are given seven years contracts to sustain and grow their businesses.

Addressing scores of attendees, MEC Ntuli commended the Mthonjaneni operators for conducting their business with dignity and dedication in the past three years. He pledged the department’s commitment and support of uplifting emerging operators through financial empowerment. He further encouraged the involvement of youth and women in the public transport sector. Ntuli also commended SANTACO on opening their regional office and urged them to ensure that the business is professionalized without any fatal conflicts.

“We are encouraged to see taxi operators with a vision and such is demonstrated through the state of the art offices and depot that were officially opened today. We hope that other operators will emulate what you have done. We further hope that the industry will rid itself of the conflicts that leave a lot of families destitute,” said Ntuli.

MEC Bheki Ntuli officially opens Mthonjaneni Bus Depot in Melmoth https://t.co/Y3M2CZMswO #ArriveAlive #BusDepot @KZNTransport pic.twitter.com/ukzgSs9NXQ

— Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) October 10, 2019