As the saga surrounding the non-issuance of tourist transport licences drags on, the Western Cape Government has written to the Department of Transport (DoT) urgently requesting a review of the section 26 agreement that regulates the licensing process in the province.

The letter to the DoT’s Acting Director-General, Ngwako Makaepea follows nationwide uproar from tourism stakeholders, who have been heavily impacted by lengthy delays in the issuing and renewal of tourist transport licences.    

In a joint statement, the Provincial Minister of Mobility, Daylin Mitchell, and the Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, Mireille Wenger, said the province was imploring the DoT to provide for greater collaboration between the National Public Transport Regulator (NPTR) and the Western Cape Provincial Regulatory Entity (PRE) to resolve growing backlogs.   

“My office has been inundated with complaints from tourism transport operators regarding these delays and the adverse impact on their businesses,” said Mitchell.

“Whilst we respect the constitutional status, institutions, powers and functions of other spheres of government, we have a responsibility to point out that the current arrangement has resulted in poor turnaround times and a considerable drop in service standards from when the Western Cape PRE managed the processing of tourist transport operating licence applications.”

The DoT has reportedly been given until August 17 to respond to the letter, failing which “other remedies will be explored to improve the regulation of tourist transport services in the Western Cape”.

NPTR hindering tourism growth

Implemented in 2016, the section 26 agreement transferred the responsibilities of accrediting tourist transport services operators and receiving and deciding on applications for the granting, renewal, amendment or transfer of tourist transport services, from PREs to the NPTR. Tourism industry pleas for improvements in the functioning of the NPTR go back to 2018, and have been mounting in recent months, as licensing backlogs are forcing hundreds of tour operators to work illegally. SATSA has been putting increasing pressure on the DoT to resolve the issue.

Minister Wenger said the delays were a significant barrier to growth of tourism, particularly as the peak summer season approached, and hinted that provincial authorities were better capacitated to deal with the licensing procedures. 

“While I welcome the efforts made to address the backlog in the processing of operating licences for tour operators, it is clear that more needs to be done to address the significant delays in the system. As we prepare for our summer peak season, it is critical for the tourism and hospitality sector that tour operators be enabled to do business. The province has had the responsibility before and can do it again.  I will continue to work with Minister Mitchell to ensure that this barrier to growth is removed.”