The Mpumalanga government has described the torching of 51 Putco buses in the province as an act of sabotage and vowed that those responsible will face consequences.
Provincial officials addressed the media on Wednesday following the arson attacks at various Putco depots in the Nkangala district.
Several employees were injured during the attacks, where the buses were set alight by a group of armed individuals on Monday.
While investigations are still ongoing, two men have since been arrested.
During the press conference, Mpumalanga Community Safety, Security, and Liaison MEC Jackie Macie characterised the attacks as economic sabotage.
“You are not fighting Putco, as they may think that they are [only] fighting Putco.
“How many people are now today affected because they rely on Putco to ferry them to their workplace and to various destinations where they wanted to go.
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“Some bought a monthly ticket or weekly ticket, so purely you are sabotaging the economy.
“Therefore, we characterise this event properly as sabotage because you are sabotaging the country and you are sabotaging the economy,” the MEC told reporters.
The motive behind the attacks remains unclear, but Macie confirmed that investigations are progressing.
“With the investigation unfolding, we are now heading to the right direction hence we have arrested two suspects. We are praying with them. They are going to receive salvation,” he said.
The MEC added that the suspects are cooperating with authorities, with additional information expected to shed light on the events.
“I’m not going to get into more details on that regard, but what I can say confidently is that we’re happy that we have a breakthrough.
“Now we have culprits that managed to stage this sabotage. You can tell that the whole incident was well-orchestrated.”
He further emphasised that the provincial government would rely on evidence, not speculation, to determine exactly what transpired.
Mpumalanga Public Works, Roads, and Transport MEC Thulasizwe Thomo described the attacks as a blow to the province’s efforts to build an efficient transport system.
“This is a serious setback, not only for the community of Nkangala and not only for Putco as a company, but for the department as well, because we are actually in the process of building a sustainable, effective and efficient transport system in Mpumalanga,” Thomo said.
“So, if you see incidents like this happening, then it’s a setback for us. Take it into consideration the fact that we are a developing country and part of the things that should happen in order for us to develop our economy and create jobs is to have an effective transport system.
“If we do not have a proper transport system, it will mean we are a collapsing country,” the MEC continued.
Thomo said that while the arrested individuals are suspects, they are expected to provide clarity on what happened.
“We really appreciate the work that has been done by Saps [South African Police Service] and we hope that justice is going to prevail in this situation.”
He also dismissed claims that the attacks stemmed from conflicts within the transport industry, urging stakeholders to resolve disputes peacefully.
READ MORE: Arson attack on Putco buses still unexplained
“We don’t want to be a government that relies on allegations and gossips which are going around. So we call upon peace in the industry.
“If there are any conflicts in the industry… we call upon peace and we call upon all stakeholders, especially in the transport industry, [to] have a proper discussion.
“But for now, we take this as just pure criminal elements that need to be dealt with as expeditiously as possible,” Thomo concluded.
Putco General Manager Dannie Malherbe said the attacks, which destroyed 10% of the nearly 500-strong fleet operating in Mpumalanga, would inevitably impact passengers.
“You can understand it’s a massive blow. Putco buys at least 100 new buses a year. It’s supposed to replace old buses so when people burn new buses, it causes permanent damage.
“It causes a lot of expenses and it causes a lot of permanent damage for Putco and for its customers,” Malherbe said.
He explained that because Putco purchases numerous new buses annually, the company maintains a reserve fleet.
“We have already moved 40 buses out of our bus pool yesterday.
“We were busy yesterday doing thorough safety checks because they stood for some months. We’ve done thorough safety checks before we release them into our operation.”
READ MORE: Mpumalanga police on high alert after arsonists torch more than 50 buses [VIDEOS]
Malherbe revealed that the company had already mobilised its bus pool to mitigate disruptions, with 50 replacement buses expected to be operational by the end of the week.
Despite these efforts, he acknowledged the strain on passengers.
“Passengers in this area travel for about 80 kilometres, which means people stand for an hour or two.
“Our service is designed for people to be seated, but now they are forced to stand until the other buses are in operation so everybody can get to work.”
Malherbe also reassured the more than 30 000 commuters who have purchased the new electronic ticketing card that unused daily, weekly or monthly trips remain valid.
“Those tickets have an extended validity of 30 to 60 days, so the trips that are not used now can be used at a later stage. Our buses should be all back in operation and fully recovered by Monday.”
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