Hon Chairperson, I hereby give notice that on the next sitting day of the Council I shall move on behalf of the DA:
That the Council -
1) notes that scholar transport remains a critical issue for all learners in the Eastern Cape;
2) also notes that the Eastern Cape department of transport awarded the tender for scholar transport of R206 million to a single contractor for the 2011-12 financial year and although the contractor has been paid by the department of transport, the contractor has failed to pay the subcontractors and taxi owners, leading to a strike by subcontractors and subsequently leaving scholars without transport;
3) further notes that -
a) the department of transport budgeted R210 million for the 2012- 13 financial year for transport;
b) the actual cost from 1 April until 26 October 2012 amounts to R344 899 000 for 54 472 children;
c) this is already R134 million over budget for only seven months of the year; and
d) no tenders for scholar transport have been awarded for the 2012-13 financial year;
4) calls on the Minister of Basic Education and the Minister of Transport to resolve these issues timeously so that -
a) the learners will be able to write their examinations in November and December this year;
b) the learners may attend the first term of the 2013 year; and
c) the subcontractors are paid for all the claims submitted for the 2011-12 financial year.