More than 8,000 pupils in the North West still endure punishing daily long walks of up to 20km to school due to shambles in the scholar transport programme in the largely rural and impoverished province.
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) held an investigative inquiry
into the state of scholar transport in the province this week, where the challenges were laid bare by government officials and other stakeholders.
MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Wessels Morweng, informed the chapter nine institution during the hearings in Mahikeng that the department needed an
additional R79-million to accommodate pupils who are not receiving the service.
Morweng said the department budgeted R450-million for the programme in the current
fiscal year, but it was insufficient, and that he has approached the Treasury to increase the budget for scholar transport.
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