Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula Ordered to Create Plan of Action to Protect Intercape Bus Drivers

• Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has been ordered to intervene to ensure the safety of long-distance coach drivers
• The Makhanda High Court ordered that the minister develop a plan of action that must be done immediately with the utmost urgency
• The buses have been under siege in the province, with over 150 shootings, stoning and the murder of a bus driver

EASTERN CAPE - Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has been ordered to implement a plan of action to ensure the safety of long-distance coach drivers and passengers.

The buses have been under siege in the province, with over 150 shootings, stoning and the murder of a bus driver. According to The Citizen, Judge John Smith said the court judgment regarding the minister’s application for leave to appeal is early next year.

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Earlier, the judge said Mbalula and former provincial Transport MEC Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwe had consistently failed to respond to various requests for intervention from Intercape.

Meanwhile, Intercape has accused the government of failing to fulfil its constitutional obligations. The company claimed it had been a victim of violence and intimidation throughout the country.

News24 reported that the hostility toward Intercape’s drivers began in 2015. The violence has also resulted in passages being affected.

Another Intercape bus driver shot outside depot, MECs condemn the unprovoked attack

Briefly News also reported that an Intercape bus driver was shot outside the company’s depot on Sunday, 31 July. Western Cape MECs are meeting with the company following the latest attack.

Rival associations are believed to be behind the attack and a string of several other violent attacks. Western Cape Mobility MEC Daylin Mitchell told EWN that the matter is being raised with the national transport minister and his provincial counterparts. He condemned the attack on the bus driver.

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Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi said police attended the crime scene at Airport Industria. According to IOL, reports indicate the driver and his assistant was on their way to Cape Town when unknown suspects began firing shots at them.

Source: Briefly News