eThekwini's R9bn Go! Durban transport project at risk as Treasury threatens funding cuts

The Go! Durban bus project, a multibillion-rand initiative, is at risk of losing funding from the national government due to delays, leaving new buses to decay in neglectful conditions for five years.

This was despite a warning from Finance MEC Barbara Creecy early this year to the eThekwini Municipality Mayor Cyril Xaba that further delays of getting buses running had serious financial consequences.  

According to a letter seen by this reporter, Creecy told Xaba that the delays to get the R9 billion project up and running had already led to the National Treasury withholding the R771 million funding.

“Therefore, for 2024/25, no further PTNG (Public Transport Network Grant) funds will be disbursed, and R771 million will be withheld. 

“In 2025/26, if there is still no progress, grant funds will be permanently stopped,” read Creecy’s letter. 

The buses, according to IFP councillor Mdu Nkosi, were brought to the city in 2019, and a few of them were integrated into People Mover. 

On February 14, Finance Department’s Intergovernmental Relations acting deputy director-general Ogalaletseng Gaarekwe informed city manager Musa Mbhele about an intention to stop funding the city’s bus project “due to underperformance/non-compliance on the PTNG” and other projects.

In a statement released on February 25, city spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said the municipality has submitted written responses to National Treasury’s letter, which she said was “internal and confidential”. 

“The city leadership is engaging the Ministry of Transport regarding the Public Transport Network Grant and related projects such as Go! Durban,” said Sisilana.

She said the city was taking steps to address the concerns and “realign project implementation plans to achieve the desired outcomes for our public transport network and the Go! Durban project”.

"We want to reassure residents that this matter will not disrupt our ongoing service delivery efforts and remain committed to delivering on our development objectives, including improved public transport infrastructure and services, and ensuring that all allocated resources benefit the community,” said Sisilana.

In the letter to Xaba, Creecy said the Transport Department had, on November 11, 2024, given the city until December 11, 2024, to come up with a plan to get Go! Durban project operating in June this year. 

“It is concerning that up to 17 December 2024, eThekwini officials had not been mandated to develop a fully compliant plan to implement the corridor.

“The department remains unconvinced that the city is prepared to operate a fully compliant C3 (corridor) service to justify the R9 billion in historical funding,” read the letter.

Gaarekwe told Mbhele that the National Treasury was planning to stop providing the PTNG to the city “due to underperformance of the grant allocation”. 

“The National Treasury hereby informs you of the intention to stop an amount of R771.4 million from your 2024/25 PTNG allocation of R921.4 million,” said Gaarekwe.

National Transport spokesperson Collen Msibi said following Creecy’s letter, the department held further engagements with the city over the matter last week in which the city promised that it was “currently developing a plan that will meet the conditions set in minister's letter”.

“This includes operating Go! Durban services in a compliant manner by March 2025.

“They have also indicated that Transport Department and city officials will meet next week to agree on a turnaround plan to get Go! Durban operating. 

“It is expected that this process will conclude by April, after which execution will be required from the city,” said Msibi.

National Finance spokesperson Cleopatra Mosana and the city’s communication unit did not respond to questions sent to them. 

ActionSA provincial leader Zwakele Mncwango described the condition of the buses as dire. 

Independent Media photographer, Leon Lestrade, visited the depot in the Durban CBD’s Johannes Nkosi (Alice) Street where the orange buses with Go! Durban logos were kept in a neglectful condition with no shelter protecting them from bad weather conditions.  

“The tyres are flat and are surrounded by overgrown grass, but I could not stay long to look at them because a security guard chased me away. 

“There is rainwater lying around the buses that are starting to get rust,” said Lestrade.  

Mncwango, who is the councillor at eThekwini Municipality, described the Go! Durban corridor as a failure as it remained a white elephant. 

He said the National Treasury has declared the money spent on the corridor, which starts from Pinetown CBD to KwaMashu, a wasteful expenditure. 

“Right now, some of the bus stations are leaking water when it rains; the municipality is spending R5 million a month to provide the stations with security,” he said.

He said there are about 20 orange buses purchased for the Go! Durban but were now decaying. He could not say when they were brought to the depot.

“Treasury is saying, how do you keep building new infrastructure when you don’t know how to use it. Drivers have been employed, but they are doing nothing,” he said.

IFP caucus leader in the council, Mdu Nkosi, said the project was delayed by some taxi associations and private bus owners who believed that it would not benefit them. 

“They are disagreeing with the municipality over when should the Go! Durban starts operating. 

“Infrastructure is there, and buses have been purchased, but other public transport operators think this system would not accommodate them,” said Nkosi.

He said while some operators have welcomed the project, others have rejected it. 

“The system of the Go! Durban says other operators cannot be accommodated while others are left out because it would encounter problems.

“Some of the buses are decayed now,” he said.    

Nkosi said there was an application to buy 50 buses, but that was rejected by the city's chief financial officer, Dr Sandile Mnguni. 

“They wanted to go live with 50, but the CFO said they get an additional of 10, but they want more while there is still disagreement. Those additional buses would decay like the ones that are already there.

"The national minister wants the project to be operated through her system while eThekwini wants a system put forward by the taxi industry. That is why the minister is taking away the grant.”  

bongani.hans@inl.co.za