Intercape chief executive Johann Ferreira said the company had suffered 150 attacks in the Eastern Cape.
PHOTO: Gallo Images/Darren Stewart
- Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula lost a court attempt to appeal an order compelling him to mitigate attacks on Intercape bus drivers.
- The Eastern Cape High Court in Makhanda delivered the ruling on Tuesday.
- The company approached the court in September last year asking it to force Mbalula to finalize a plan with the Eastern Cape police and MEC to mitigate attacks on drivers.
The Eastern Cape High Court in Makhanda has dismissed with costs the authorization of Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula to appeal his earlier order requiring him and Transport and Community Security MEC Xolile Nqatha to develop an action plan to mitigate attacks against Intercape bus drivers.
In a ruling handed down Tuesday, Judge John Smith said there were no compelling reasons to grant the Department of Transportation permission to appeal its order, adding that he believed it would be unsuccessful.
Intercape took the department to court over a series of attacks, including the shooting and stone-throwing of its buses. The attacks have also restricted his operations in what he called “prohibited areas.”
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On September 30 last year, the court gave the department and Nqatha 20 days to develop the plan. However, the department appealed the order the following month.
Smith said Mbalula’s withdrawal from the agreement to formulate the plan was surprising, considering that cooperative governance was among the pillars of the country’s constitution.
added:
Willingness upon invitation to discuss, deliberate, and add departmental voice in support of such an action plan, which may be necessary to address not only the applicant’s concern but also the concerns of all those affected in the industry, has been declared open. for the criminal and violent acts of competing operators in the sector.
Intercape chief executive Johann Ferreira said the company had suffered 150 attacks in the Eastern Cape.
He called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to replace Mbalula with a minister who is “serious about reform” and who prioritizes the challenges the company seeks to address.
Ferreira said Police Minister Bheki Cele should also take responsibility for the failure of the police to resolve the 150 cases reported by his company.
“We have made a call to the SAPS to fulfill its role. To date, they have also failed. We intend to follow the same legal approach with Minister Cele as we have done with Minister Mbalula.
“Both have breached their constitutional obligations and we are turning to the courts to force them to act,” he added.
