The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality is trying to secure buses to roll out the next leg of the city’s transport system.
The news comes, however, as the city was trying to put out fires on Wednesday as angry ambassadors of the Integrated Public Transport System (IPTS) protested and threatened to burn the buses because they were not paid.
Some of the workers who believed they were supposed to be paid on Wednesday, with the rest of the municipality’s payroll, threatened they would burn the buses if they were not paid on Thursday.
But acting IPTS project manager Lutando Maboza said workers hired through the Extended Public Works Programme were generally paid after two months of working.
However, because the group of ambassadors only worked for one month they would be paid by month end, he said.
One of the ambassadors, Eddie Fortuin, said some of the residents were burning tyres out of frustration.
“We weren’t told that we won’t be paid today.
“The work has been done but the money has not been paid; the municipality has failed the people,” Fortuin said.
One woman, who declined to give her name for fear of victimisation, said they had raked up debt in the hopes of receiving their money on the 25th.
“We are going to destroy those [IPTS] buses if we are not paid [on Thursday],” she said.
They are meant to be paid R2,100 while the team leaders receive more, she said.The metro’s roads and transport political head, Marlon Daniels, who tried to placate the angry ambassadors, vowed that they would be paid by the end of the month.
“If you are not paid on month end, I’m going to lead you in a march to City Hall.
“It is wrong that you were not paid today. There was enough time to capture your details to make sure that you were all paid today for the work that you did . . . We take responsibility,” Daniels said.
Maboza said payroll staff were hard at work trying to ensure the ambassadors were paid by the end of the month.
Daniels then accompanied the group to the IPTS buses near the Lillian Diedericks building to arrange for a free ride back to the northern areas.
Meanwhile, the municipality on Wednesday called for tenders for the supply of new IPTS buses.
Maboza said the city was looking for a local manufacturer to supply the buses, to be used on new Njoli, Summerstrand and Uitenhage routes.
Police spokesperson Captain Johan Rheeder confirmed a group of residents had staged a protest along Stanford Road.