The financial deficit experienced by the Gauteng transport department resulted from a shortfall in the funds it receives from the national government, it said in a statement on Friday.
”The provincial department would like to state that the current deficit covers the period starting in November 2008 until the end of the current financial year. The funds received from national government in November 2008 were used to offset the deficit that was already in existence in the preceding year,” said spokesperson Alfred Nhlapo.
This follows an earlier announcement by the national transport department that it would bail out both the Gauteng and Western Cape provinces from outstanding bus subsidies to operators in those provinces.
The national department set aside R1,9-billion for operators in Gauteng and R92-million for Golden Arrow Bus Services in the Western Cape.
This follows Thursday’s ruling by the Pretoria High Court that about R300-million be paid to Gauteng operators by noon on Friday.
However, by close of business only R6-million had been paid to two operators in the province.
South African Bus Operators’ Association (Saboa) executive manager Eric Cornelius said that because of non-compliance to the order, an application had been filed for provincial transport minister Ignatius Jacobs to appear in the court on Monday.
”We have submitted an application again to the high court to get the MEC [provincial minister] in court to explain why there was non-compliance to the court order,” said Cornelius.
Nhlapo said on Friday night that they were aware of the order and that the ”national department has committed itself to paying the outstanding money on Monday”.
”We also want to indicate that, in acknowledging its liability for the ongoing deficit, the national department has made a commitment to make funds available for the payment of outstanding claims covering November 2008 until the end of March 2009,” he said. – Sapa