LIMPOPO – TWENTY drivers working under the South African Post Office (Sapo) to deliver textbooks in Limpopo have not received their salaries since December last year.
According to them, their project manager, Abel Mhlongo, told them that their “papers” were being withheld by another officer based in Bloemfontein.
“We are working more than the normal hours because we clock in at 05:00 in the morning at the Seshego warehouse and clock out between 23:00 and midnight. Each driver delivers textbooks to 32 schools per day. We use our own airtime to communicate with principals,” they said.
“We don’t have food at home, our children are suffering, our bank accounts were inactive and as a result they were closed. Our wives don’t trust us anymore, landlords are chasing us away because of failing to pay rent, our water and electricity bills are shocking,” they said.
“We borrow money from loan sharks to pay for our children’s school fees and transport, and we are failing to pay the money back. Our lives are in danger because of the loan sharks’ threats. Our names are blacklisted at the credit bureau,” they said.
“Two months ago, we met the project manager and the branch manager and they promised to give us special payment. We told the department of education that Sapo had not paid us since December last year and they told us they had paid the project,” said the angry drivers.
The project manager, Abel Mhlongo, said he could not comment on the matter because he updated his drivers with regard to this problem regularly. “I don’t have comment up to so far,” Mhlongo said.
Speaking on behalf of the department of education, Dr Naledzani Rasila, expressed his shock that the drivers had not been paid since December last year, and said he had not been aware of this. “I don’t think the problem is with us, I will check with the chief financial officer,” Rasila said.
Rasila said the current delivery of textbooks was a top-up due to the migration of learners from one school to another. The normal delivery of books was completed a long time ago, he said.
