Bus service Intercape has welcomed an order handed down by the High Court in Makhanda, in the Eastern Cape, in a matter the company brought against the Eastern Cape’s transport MEC, as well as Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula.

Judge John Smith ruled that the MEC and the Minister are to take positive steps to ensure that reasonable and effective measures are put in place to provide for the safety and security of long-distance bus driver and passengers in the Eastern Cape.

The judge added that the officials have failed up to now to ensure the safety and security of long-distance bus drivers and passengers in the province, even though they have an obligation to do so.

Intercape has suffered more than 130 reported incidents of violence, intimidation and extortion over the past 18 months. These attacks have resulted in serious injuries to Intercape staff and passengers, as well as the death of one driver in April.

The bus services explains the attacks have become more frequent in recent months and increasingly more brazen. However, no arrests have been made.

Intercape believes it is being targeted in a concerted, organised and structured campaign to push it out of certain areas, including the Eastern Cape.

The company has even gone as far as to offer hefty rewards for people with information that lead to the arrest and successful prosecution of individuals responsible for certain attacks, especially those where buses are shot at or stoned, and those who are responsible for organising and leading the entire campaign.

Moreover, Smith found that the former Transport MEC in the province, Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwe, had acted unlawfully when she directed Intercape to enter into negotiations with the minibus taxi industry and to suspend its services in certain towns in the Eastern Cape pending the outcome of these negotiations.

“That we could be instructed by an officer of the State to do something that was patently illegal . . . is an outrage. Our lawyers told the MEC so at the time – this was a complete dereliction of duty by an elected office bearer who took an oath of office to uphold the Constitution of this country,” Intercape CEO Johann Ferreira states.

The High Court order also requires that practical measures be implemented in this regard, such as formulating an action plan with the South African Police Service, which must be delivered within 20 days, or October 28.

Smith further ordered that measures provided for in the National Land Transport Act be considered – including extraordinary measures, such as the closure of taxi routes and ranks in a declared area and the suspension of operating licences or permits in a declared area.

The judge awarded costs in Intercape’s favour, on a punitive scale against the Eastern Cape Transport MEC and Mbalula. Reasons for the order will be made public on a later date.

Ferreira says the court order was an important step in holding responsible Ministers and other office bearers to account and to prevent the “gross dereliction” of their duties.

“It is our hope that this court order will be the spur for government, through the ministers of transport and police, to take decisive and meaningful action to stop this criminality and to bring those responsible to book. We are ready to work with government.

“Sadly, it rings true that ‘blood alone moves the wheels of history’ and in this case it was the loss of an innocent life in Intercape driver Bangikhaya Machana,” he adds.

BACKGROUND

Intercape approached the court seeking urgent intervention to compel government to act to stop the ongoing campaign of violence directed at Intercape and other long-distance coach companies by taxi associations.

Intercape told the court that, in recent months, “the intimidation and violence in the Eastern Cape has escalated to unprecedented and intolerable heights” and that certain towns in the Eastern Cape had been unlawfully closed off to long-distance coach operators.

To date, the towns of Ngcobo, Cofimvaba, Tsomo, Butterworth and Idutywa in the province are still considered no-go zones for Intercape despite pleas by the public to reopen these stops. Commuters are now forced to only make use of minibus taxis.

Also listed as respondents in the application were the Eastern Cape provincial Police Commissioner, the National Commissioner of Police, the National Public Transport Regulator and the Eastern Cape Provincial Regulatory Entity. These parties elected not to oppose Intercape’s application.

For Intercape, the court’s findings are a great victory. However, Ferreira stresses it is deeply unfortunate that a court had to direct the Minister and MEC to fulfill their duties after Intercape had written to the transport authorities over many years and on many occasions requesting urgent intervention.

Intercape, nonetheless, remains willing to work together with government and engage constructively to restore safety and security for long-distance bus drivers and passengers.