Free State MEC for Community Safety, Roads, and Transport, Jabu Mbalula, along with the director of transportation in the province, has been interdicted by the Bloemfontein High Court in a failed attempt to prevent the local bus company from getting an operational licence.
In the judgment handed down on December 18, Judge Pitso Molitsoane ruled in favour of Itumele Bus Lines, which operates as Interstate Bus Line (IBL). The company had applied to the department to get operating licences for its 80 buses to provide educational transport for scholars in the Mangaung area. The applications are related to the same routes that the company already uses for public transport.
Molitsoane ruled that IBL was entitled to be given additional operating licences to expand its services. The bus company will also ferry scholars within the Mangaung metro municipality.
Additional operating licences
Monnapule Ntamo, a department official under Mbalula’s leadership, allegedly obstructed IBL’s attempt to secure additional operating licences. This obstruction prompted the bus company to take legal action in the High Court. It claimed that the department was unlawfully hindering its efforts to expand operations.
Mbalula and Ntamo were “ordered to provide the applicant with annexures, including all schedules, to the applicant’s approved operating licences for additional authorities to allow charter services, within 3 (three) days from the date of this order”.
To add insult to injury, Ntamo was cautioned against acting unilaterally. He was explicitly told that he should not impound the 80 buses belonging to IBL. This as he was not a law enforcement officer.
The court ruled that he “be interdicted from holding himself out as a law enforcement officer or attempting to perform law enforcement functions in respect of the operation of the applicant’s public transport services”.
Deadline for review of applications
Molitsoane further instructed the Transport Operating Licence Administrative Body to process IBL’s applications. The Free State Transport Operating Licence Board was also instructed to do the same. Ntamo was also instructed to review the 80 applications within three days of his ruling.
In the ruling, IBL was authorised to continue providing scholar transport for learners. It will be operating under this mandate until its additional authorities for ferrying learners are fully approved.
Ntamo was further instructed to cease obstructing IBL’s efforts to obtain operational licences for its scholar transport services.
