[Editorial] Behind the Wheel of the Future

For too long, we have acted as if public transport would advance on its own. As if a bus, even if poorly maintained, would miraculously reach its destination. As if financial improvisation, lack of direction, and vacant positions would never become apparent. For nearly a decade, the CNT has operated without audited financial statements.

Inside the vehicle, it was no better. Key positions remained unfilled — Deputy General Manager, Chief Engineer, Procurement Manager, Corporate Secretary — all crucial roles whose absence left the company driving blind, lost in a fog of indecision.

We made do: an IT Manager also responsible for purchasing, a Regional Manager juggling three roles at once… At the CNT, the state allowed a public bus to be driven by those merely trying to keep it running.

Financially? The accounting data is kept on spreadsheets; projections ignore upcoming salary increases… The announced cash flow is thus an illusion.

As for internal controls, 87 anomalies were reported, yet reports remain unanswered, unmonitored, uncorrected. At the CNT, warnings are treated as background noise in the bus, and jolts are seen as mere potholes on a road to nowhere.

The IT systems? Eleven software programs that do not communicate with each other. Ultimately, no one really knows how many buses are operational, how many are broken down, or how much this situation costs taxpayers.

It is urgent to build the future. The CNT must return to a path of strong governance, rigorous maintenance, transparent accounting, integrated technology, and a complete team. Because public transport is not an administrative luxury: it is a social right, an economic necessity, a pillar of the country.

It falls to Minister Osman Mahomed and the new CNT leadership to recalibrate the route. This is indeed the strongest recommendation from the report. An Oversight Committee should be established at the ministry level to ensure the recovery of the CNT.

The CNT does not need a new coat of paint or a slogan plastered on its exterior. It needs a governance shock. So that, tomorrow, its public bus is no longer a drifting vehicle…