Durban — The eThekwini Municipality has decided to auction off a large number of run-down buses that have been sitting idle for a long time in their parking lots.
A total of 150 buses are set to go under the hammer at the auction site – the old drive-in on the corner of Battery Beach and Sandile Thusi roads – on Thursday, commencing at 8am and concluding the next day at 9am, according to the “Ethekwini Weekly Bulletin”.
Extensive mechanical repairs and refurbishment are needed to restore the buses to their former glory. Rather than incurring hefty costs, the municipality decided to sell the buses.
It has emerged that some of the vehicles have been collecting dust for more than 10 years after being decommissioned.
Why the municipality did not move sooner to derive some returns from the obsolete buses as opposed to letting them languish, mainly at their Ntuzuma and Umlazi depots, is one of the issues that has been raised ahead of the auction.
The municipality had not responded to the Sunday Tribune’s questions by the time of going to print.
The municipality’s bus service has been fraught with troubles ever since it sold its fleet to Remant Alton for R70 million in 2003.
The company was owned by politically connected Phoenix businessman Jay Singh, who died in May 2020.
In 2008, the municipality bought the fleet back from Remant Alton for a reported R405m.
Tansnat, a company with taxi boss Mandla Gcaba as a shareholder, was then awarded an initial contract to lease the City’s buses at R15000 per month. The deal was said to be heavily subsidised by the provincial government. The relationship between the municipality and Tansnat has been beset with court battles over the years as both parties have repeatedly brought legal action against each other over monies owed.
Some of the buses up for auction are said to have operated during Jay Singh’s Remant Alton days.
The City has encouraged interested parties – particularly previously disadvantaged individuals – to participate in the auction.
The municipality also indicated that office furniture and equipment that were no longer in use would also be auctioned at their premises on Electron Road, Springfield.
Viewing for both auctions is from Monday until Wednesday.
A minimum requirement to participate in the auction is a deposit of R10 000 per bus, while the goods auction will run from 8am to 11am on August 1.
Sunday Tribune