The ruling is likely to have significant implications for subsidised public transport contracts in KZN and potentially elsewhere in South Africa, particularly where interim or negotiated agreements have been repeatedly extended without competitive tender processes.
The KwaZulu-Natal High Court has dismissed an application by a group of subsidised bus operators seeking to keep long-running transport contracts in place, ruling that repeated extensions of the agreements were unconstitutional and failed to comply with public procurement laws.
In a judgment handed down on Tuesday, the Pietermaritzburg High Court found that the KZN Department of Transport’s continued extensions of interim and negotiated bus service contracts were inconsistent with Section 217 of the Constitution, which requires public procurement to be fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective.
The ruling is likely to have significant implications for subsidised public transport contracts in KZN and potentially elsewhere in South Africa, particularly where interim or negotiated agreements have been repeatedly extended without competitive tender processes.
The case involved 15 bus operators, including Sizanani Mazulu Transport, Duzi Bus Services, Mtunzini Bus Services, Tansnat Coach Lines, and South Coast Bus Service, which had approached the court seeking declarations that the extensions of their contracts were lawful under the National Land Transport Act (NLTA).
