Court victory for Putco

RULING: GAUTENG GOVERNMENT INTERDICTED FROM AMENDING CONTRACTS

- Roy Cokayne

US transport company Putco has obtained an urgent interim interdict to stop the Gauteng government from unilaterally amending contracts entered into with it and withholding payment to Putco on that basis.

The Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport (DRT) claimed it was entitled to amend the agreements or vary the contracts entered into with Putco in June last year in terms of a clause of the agreement and on the basis that the terms of the agreement would "lead to unauthorised and irregular expenditure".

Putco said it provided essential transport services primarily to people living in low-income areas in Gauteng and Mpumalanga and had done so for decades, with about 130,000 passengers transported daily.

It added that commuters travelling to and from work as well as students relied on its public transport mode, which is subsidised by the DRT resulting in passengers paying reduced fares for their transport.

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