MAHIKENG MAIL - MAHIKENG: North West Transport Investment (NTI) employees will know their fate within ten days - if they will be paid their outstanding salaries that the company has been struggling to pay for months, since the appointment of the Business Rescue Practioner (BRP) in the company.
This announcement came at a meeting briefing held on Monday by the MEC of Community Safety and Transport Management, Wessels Morweng, reporting on the status quo of the company and non-payment of salaries to employees.
Meanwhile employees were seen spending the whole festive season camping outside legislature offices in protest and demanding their outstanding salaries without response from the provincial departmental offices.
Speaking to the employees (Mahikeng Mail agreed to protect their identities), they said it was inhumane to see their living conditions and their human rights being stepped on by North West provincial government who have forever promised to intervene however failing to do so.
“We are tired of suffering and to be treated this way. Why should it be us who are treated badly by our own government? We have worked for years in a company which today has compromised our future. We have lost everything and no one is saying anything except making false promises. We plead with the government to address the challenges in NTI and to bring back a company we have entrusted our lives in,” said one of the employees.
To date over the last thirty months, the Department and the Gauteng Government have paid over R600 million to the entity without any financial accountability by the BRP who the department through the High Court removed and then appointed an acting CEO.
During the media briefing it was also reported that the BRP, since taking over the company, has failed to report and account to both the department and the portfolio committee on the day to day running of the company.
Treasury has allocated an amount of R65 000 000 meant for the salaries of the employees and the company, while the department previously advanced over R18 600 000 to the entity in June 2024 which was refundable to the department.
MEC Morweng said, “My appeal to all NTI employees is that they should be part of the solution to the entity and not the problem and go back to work as we are busy trying to come up with a permanent solution and as a caring government, we can’t leave the entity to die.
“Our interest as a shareholder is to see the employees paid, so our team is looking into the possibility of making sure that is done. Within ten days we want to have made sure that there is solution to the challenge of unpaid salaries.”
