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ZIWAPHI • VOL 3 NO 24 • 4 - 17 DECEMBER  2009

MASHISHING

By Eric Mashaba

Two Mpumalanga departments are unable - or unwilling - to say who had won a tender to transport school children in Marambane outside Mashishing (formerly Lydenburg).  

The children have been stranded without transport since schools reopened after the July holidays and parents have been forced to fork out money from their own pockets to hire bakkies to get their children to Boschfontein High School.

The Mpumalanga Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport and the Department of Education referred questions about the tender to each other.

“We are unable to trace the winner of the tender because our department took over the provision of scholar transport from the Department of Education from August 1,” said spokesperson for the public works department David Nkambule.

“With regards to the initial awarding of tenders, all enquiries should be directed to the Department of Education as it was their responsibility to provide scholar transport for learners at the time,” he said.

Spokesperson for the Department of Education, Jasper Zwane, said he could not disclose who had won the Marambane tender.

“All the documents regarding scholar transport and the winners of the tenders were handed over to the Department of Roads and Transport in August. We don’t have any documentation that reveals who had won the Marambane tender,” Zwane said.

Nkambule said his department had handed the matter over to Mpumalanga premier David Mabuza, who has appointed a commission of inquiry into the matter.

“The matter now rests with the premier’s office and they are currently dealing with the investigation to discover who won this tender,” he said.

Markos Nkosi, chairman of the Black Bus Owners’ Association, which is also a provider of scholar transport in the province, said the tender for the Mashishing area was awarded last year to the Green Forest bus company run by Wanda Xaba and his wife, Phumzile.

“I know that Xaba and his wife won this tender. Xaba subcontracted another operator, Khisane Shongwe, to run the project for him,” said Nkosi.

Shongwe confirmed he had been subcontracted by the Xaba couple. He said he had never been paid since he began transporting pupils in June last year.

“The Xabas owe me more than R300 000. I stopped the operation in June this year after they failed to pay me,” Shongwe said.

He said after he stopped, Xaba requested Nkosi to proceed with the project.

“I thought his buses were broken and decided to help. I ran the project until the end of July and demanded R48 000 as payment, but Xaba did not pay me, so I was forced to stop,” said Nkosi.

The school circuit manager in Mashising, Mandrew Nyambi, said he only knew two bus operators who operate in the area, Shongwe and Nkosi.

“I have not met Xaba and his wife and I don’t know them as service providers. I also don’t know who won this tender,” Nyambi said.

Nkosi said the association wanted the matter resolved.

“We don’t want the same problem next year. The pupils are the ones suffering. Why are the two departments hiding the information? We know everything,” said Nkosi.

Another bus operator, who claimed to be employed by the Xabas and did not want to be named, said Phumzile fronted the tender application but her husband was actually running the operation.

He said he and four other drivers have also not been paid by the couple.

“I was transporting pupils for them in the Barberton region and they have not paid my salary of R5 400 for a month and a half worth of work. I don’t know if they paid the other drivers, but I still have not received my salary,” said the driver.

When asked for comment, Xaba said: “I don’t know anything about the matter, and I have no comment.”