Acting HOD Phahlo suspends Ntamo and Ntshingane

Staff Reporter

Bloemfontein – The suspension of senior Free State transport officials after conducting roadblock on R702 has put the province’s public transport regulatory system under renewed scrutiny, amid a string of court battles and unresolved disputes over operating licences and routes.

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Monnapule Henry Ntamo was served with his suspension by the department’s acting Head of Department, Advocate Jacob Phahlo, on Friday, while Mlungisi Ntshingane, an Assistant Director at the Permit Board, was also suspended.

The development comes as Ntamo remains linked to a series of disputes involving the administration of operating licences.

In the Interstate Bus Lines matter, the Free State High Court made orders concerning the company’s operating-licence applications and Ntamo’s conduct. The dispute subsequently spilled into further correspondence between attorneys and the department.

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In a separate matter, attorneys acting for a transport operator accused the department of failing to comply with a 26 March 2026 court order requiring 80 temporary operating licences for education and scholar transport, in addition to 80 existing licences

The attorneys warned that they had instructions to approach the High Court for a contempt-of-court order and punitive costs, alleging that the department had failed to comply with the order.

The matter had also been brought to the attention of MEC for Community Safety, Roads and Transport Jabu Mbalula.

After receiving the court documents, Mbalula allegedly said “this matter is resolved”.

The subsequent legal correspondence, however, alleges continued non-compliance.

The questions around the province’s transport regulatory system extend beyond the court battles.

The publication understands that Ntamo has also allegedly been approaching former bus owners who no longer operate buses, with a view to establishing a committee representing such operators and also established a parallel licence operating office accirdibg to insiders.

Questions have been raised about Ntamo’s alleged interest in the proposed committee and what role he would play in relation to it.

Meanwhile, in Hoopstad, small taxi operators continue to battle established permit holders over access to local routes.

The operators say they have attempted to engage the local taxi association and seek a legitimate mechanism through which their operations could ultimately be considered by the Permit Board.

They reported that enforcement is instead used against them when local demand increases.

The contrast raises an uncomfortable question: while operators across the province continue to grapple with permits, routes and access to the formal transport system, who is ensuring that the province’s regulatory machinery is functioning as it should?

The latest suspensions may provide an opportunity to answer that question.

Who is regulating the regulators, and is the Free State’s transport system resolving the problems facing operators, or simply moving from one dispute to the next?

This is a developing story.

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