Emahlaleni Now you know! Nou weet jy! 19 February 2021 | Edition 05 - 2021 | rekord@rekordmediafs.co.za
Government funded buscompany claims: R16 million went up in flames in 4 months INDWE: Eastern Cape transport MEC Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwe has condemned the torching of AB 350 buses in the Eastern Cape which has cost the company more than R16 million in four months. The latest of the arson attacks happened three weeks ago in the province. AB 350, a black-owned bus company, with 590 employees and a fleet of 155 buses, is partly funded by the provincial department of transport and Eastern Cape Development Corporation. CEO of AB 350 Nosipho Ngewu said it would cost them R2.1 million to replace each of the buses. This amounts to a total of just more than R16 million. ‘Scrounge around for the money’ She said she had no idea where the company would get that kind of money. “We will have to scrounge around for the money,” she said. Eight buses were torched between September and January said Ngewu
adding that since 2015, the company has lost 16 buses. Asked what triggered the arson attacks, Ngewu said: “It is due to improvement on the bus availability. We started moving buses back into routes that we were not servicing due to breakdowns, like in Thungwini, Dikela, Bengu, Indwe, and Sithebe. Buses were all burnt upon their return to their routes.” Ngewu said passengers would suffer the most due to the unavailability of buses in their areas. Ngewu said about 9 600 passengers in far-flung areas are at risk of not accessing critical services like government grants and hospitalization. She said the company was losing money due to the incidents as they have beefed up security at the cost of R1.3 million. “Further burden on company cash flow increase in risk premiums, access paid during these incidents which…(continue on page 3)