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The Democratic Alliance (DA) notes the presentation of the 2025/26 Second Adjustment Appropriation Bill to the Portfolio Committee on Premier and Finance on 24 February 2026, which proposes additional allocations to address the deepening financial crisis within the Department of Community Safety and Transport Management (COSATMA).

The proposed adjustments include R70 million for outstanding scholar transport invoices and a further R90 million to cover salary obligations at the National Transport Institution (NTI). These allocations follow the Department’s failure to settle scholar transport service providers dating back to April 2025, a situation that has placed learner transport at serious risk across the province.

The DA welcomes Treasury’s decision to invoke Section 18 of the Public Finance Management Act, which will allow Provincial Treasury to assume direct oversight of COSATMA’s financial management. This intervention is necessary to stabilise the Department, monitor scholar transport expenditure, and ensure that unsafe or non-compliant arrangements are identified and removed where required. Protecting learners and restoring proper financial control must be the immediate priority.

The delays in payments have already exposed learners to the risk of being stranded without safe and reliable transport, as witnessed in Zeerust recently.

While the adjustment budget may provide short-term relief near the end of the 2025/26 financial year, it does not resolve the deeper governance and financial management failures within COSATMA.

A sustainable financial recovery plan, strict contract management, and consequence management where public funds have been mismanaged are compulsory.

The DA further notes the resolution that a forensic audit into COSATMA’s expenditure be conducted to strengthen transparency and accountability, and supports the call for Provincial Treasury to develop a comprehensive, long-term roadmap to address the Department’s structural budget constraints and governance failures, including those affecting the NTI.

The Portfolio Committee has noted the Adjustment Appropriation Bill and given it its first reading in the North West Provincial Legislature. It now returns to the Portfolio Committee on Premier and Finance for the legislative process to continue.

The DA will continue to exercise strict oversight to ensure that public funds restore services, protect learners, and enforce proper financial discipline within the Department.

Issued by Hendriëtte van Huyssteen - DA Spokesperson on Finance in North West