...NAPSAWU in the dark on developments

MANZINI – The National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) is in the dark on the developments.

President of NAPSAWU Oscar Nkambule said they were not aware of this development. He said their understanding was that things were being addressed to revive the responsibilities of the Central Transport Administration (CTA). On the other hand, in a previous interview, Secretary General (SG) Thulani Hlatshwayo said they anticipated government to pay terminal benefits of all the workers before any transition ensued.

Study

Hlatshwayo said this following that this publication reported that government was set to embark on a study, which could lead to the shutdown of the CTA as its functions maybe transferred to other entities. The Ministry of Public Works and Transport recently flighted an advertisement, expressing its intention to modernise the management and use of the government fleet to achieve operation efficiency and improved service delivery. It expressed a wish to engage an experienced fleet management consulting firm, whose technical team would be in possession of relevant training and demonstrating a clear track record of experience in planning, designing and executing a complete fleet management solution of this magnitude.

In light of this, Hlatshwayo said the union was anticipating that its members would be engaged and that the Central Transport Organisation (CTO) Act would be followed.

The CTO Act was enacted to state the transition of CTA into a parastatal as government was abolishing the former.

Assets

The CTO Act Section 42 (1) states that all assets utilised by the CTO, which are currently owned by the government, are to be transferred to the organisation at zero value. On the other hand, Hlatshwayo said they were abreast with the abolishment of the Roads Department, which shall make way for the National Road Agency, which shall soon start operating. “We expect workers of CTA to be paid out fairly before those who would want to be retained in the civil service may reapply,” Hlatshwayo said. He said this was what was agreed on through the CTO Act. Meanwhile, this publication has gathered that the Robert Magongo-led Ministry of Public Works and Transport Portfolio Committee visited the CTA departments to assess the assets in its possession and further establish what government needed to do.

Some of the police cars which were written off, parked and rotting at Matsapha Police Academy, where they are also allegedly looted. Government wants to do away with such challenges in a new plan of securing its fleet through fleet leasing and financing.