Thousands of Eastern Cape learners face being stranded as scholar transport operators strike over unpaid invoices and the growing instability of the provincial scholar transport system.
The Santaco Eastern Cape strike is a direct warning that the scholar transport system is failing, with learners now facing the consequences of unpaid invoices, poor planning, and inadequate funding.
In response to parliamentary questions from the DA, Transport MEC Xolile Nqatha revealed that 115 379 learners are currently being transported across six districts. The Department of Education’s 2026 database identifies 159 361 qualifying learners, leaving 43 982 qualifying learners without transport.
Nqatha’s reply shows that transporting the 115 379 learners already on the system will cost R1.204 billion in the 2026/27 financial year. A further 47 661 learners must still be added following the Makhanda High Court order, at an additional cost of R387.7 million.
This brings the total required budget for scholar transport to R1.592 billion to transport 163 040 learners. The current allocation of R871.9 million falls far short of what is needed, placing both learners and operators in an impossible position.
The crisis has already reached the point of non-payment. Nqatha confirmed that R67.46 million in invoices from August to November 2025 remain unpaid, while January 2026 invoices were still being quantified by districts at the time of the reply.
There are currently 2 371 registered scholar transport operators across the province. If these operators are not paid, routes will collapse, learners will be stranded, and the poorest communities will suffer first.
This failure strikes at the heart of the state’s constitutional and statutory obligations. It disproportionately affects poor and rural learners who depend on government to provide safe, reliable access to school.
The DA has therefore written to the Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, to request a Section 100(1)(a) intervention, as outlined by the Constitution of South Africa, which allows the National Executive to intervene in provincial administration if a province fails to fulfil its executive obligations.
The provincial government must immediately provide a credible payment plan for outstanding invoices, protect existing scholar transport routes, and ensure that all qualifying learners are included in a properly funded transport plan for the 2026 academic year.
Access to education is non-negotiable. Scholar transport is the bridge between thousands of children and their constitutional right to basic education. When that bridge fails, children lose learning time, families lose trust, and communities lose opportunity.
The people of the Eastern Cape deserve a government that plans properly, funds essential services responsibly, and protects the dignity and future of every learner.