10 October 2024
Former employees of Great North Transport and their relatives have been holding sit-ins and night vigils at the Limpopo Premier’s office in Polokwane this week. They are demanding that their outstanding pensions and provident fund monies be paid immediately. Photos: Thembi Siaga
Hundreds of frustrated former employees of Great North Transport (GNT) and their relatives have been holding sit-ins and night vigils at the Limpopo Premier’s office in Polokwane. They are demanding their unpaid pensions and provident fund monies.
Retired workers and families of dead workers first gathered along Hans van Rensburg Street on 8 October. They represent 11 GNT depots, including those in Giyani, Makhado, and Phalaborwa.
The protesters were employees of the Limpopo government-owned bus company who have been left out of pocket after R300-million of their pension fund vanished.
This was revealed when workers discovered that the company had been paying their contributions to the pension fund or had been paying short for 17 years. This was despite these contributions being deducted from their salaries each month, for years.
The GNT board of trustees held quarterly meetings between 2000 and 2017. But it failed to report any non-compliance by the bus company to the pension fund registrar in accordance with the Pension Funds Act, according to a forensic report by BDO, an auditing firm. The board was required by law to report prejudicial matters and conduct relating to the members’ benefits, but did not.
The protests this week, facilitated by the Make It Happen Foundation and its
founder Harry Masindi, demanded that Premier Phophi Ramathuba and the provincial Treasury explain their refusal to implement the findings of the BDO report.
Seven months ago, the group held a three-day picket and a two-night vigil, demanding a copy of a forensic report from the provincial Treasury regarding their unpaid provident funds at GNT. Despite several protests, vigils, and peaceful marches since 2021, the group only received a copy of the report on 23 April 2024.
The provincial government spokesperson told GroundUp that MEC for Economic Development, Environment, and Tourism, Tshitereke Matibe, and the director-general will facilitate a process with the beneficiaries to address any outstanding issues from the BDO report.
The group intended to continue their protests until they received their money. Then late on Tuesday, the Premier promised that some of them would start receiving their outstanding payments from Wednesday, 9 October.
But by midday on Thursday several people GroundUp spoke to had still not received their outstanding money.
Regarding the outstanding pension payments, Director-General Nape Nchabeleng agreed to set up a committee with the heads of the department and the provincial Treasury. This committee will submit a report to the MEC before the end of this month.
Protesters remained for hours outside the Premier’s office in Polokwane, Limpopo.
“We worked hard for this company. I worked from 1979 until I was retrenched in 2022,” said former bus driver Tshamano Sithakathaka from Ndzelele. “I received little money for retrenchment. Today I rely only on the SASSA Old Age Grant, which is not enough due to the high cost of living,” he said.
After years of waiting and empty promises, workers are demanding accountability for the way this has devastated their lives.
A BDO forensic investigation report, seen by GroundUp, revealed that 11 GNT depots failed to make timely pension contributions, resulting in significant delays and unpaid amounts.
The report also showed that GNT was in financial distress, with an annual loss of R30-million, which hindered its ability to meet statutory obligations, including pension payments. But the investigation could not confirm whether the pension funds were misappropriated.
A letter from CEO Sandile Kwesa, dated 26 November 2018, said that no application for the liquidation of the pension fund had been submitted and directed the Board of Trustees to begin the liquidation process as soon as possible.
Limpopo government spokesperson, Ndavhe Ramakuela, said that 900 of 1,100 pensioners had already been paid. He said that the remaining people have been contacted to collect their pensions.