By: Natasha Archary
Putco services will resume on Friday, 05 May after being temporarily suspended on Thursday due to a shortage of diesel, following non-payment of the government subsidy.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi assured commuters that bus operations will resume without future disruptions.
Lesufi detailed the reasons for the bus operator being unable to keep it’s fleet on the roads, leaving over 200 000 commuters stranded with little warning.
According to Lesufi, government made payment which would only reflect in Putco’s bank account on Monday.
However, the Premier said that the expectation that the government subsidy be paid to Putco in advance can no longer apply due to compliance regulations.
“With regards to the compliance matters, we need to ensure we meet requirements of the auditor general. Unfortunately, Putco, because we’re supposed to allow them to render a service, invoice us, and then we pay them.
We’re moving away from a prepaid arrangement. For a service provider to expect upfront payment on that basis, we found ourselves in that unfortunate situation.”
Putco raised the issue of fuel price increasing consistently whilst the government subsidy has remained stagnant for years.
The Premier said they are in talks with Putco to reach a new contract at a better rate, with ample funding to give bus operators the opportunity to develop reserves which will assist should there be future delays with payments.
“The problem is that it’s a matter of getting the funds from national first, then transfer it to bus operator. If the money doesn’t come into provincial’s account, we can’t clear it to transfer it to bus operators. So, there are a number of factors to services being halted.”
Putco spends an estimated R47 million a month on diesel, and the company said it is doing everything possible to keep ticket prices affordable.
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