RAMAPHOSA GIVES TEETH TO TRANSPORT TRIBUNAL AS NEW LAW TAKES IMMEDIATE EFFECT

Mpho Dube
5 minutes ago
2 min read

***President Cyril Ramaphosa has proclaimed the immediate commencement of the Transport Appeal Tribunal Amendment Act, giving the Tribunal powers to enforce its rulings after decades of being ignored.***

By Mpho Dube, Editor-in-Chief

The Azanian | Truth. Fearless. Unfiltered.

AZANIAFROCOMEDIA – The Catalyst of Impact

PRETORIA — President Cyril Ramaphosa has moved to fix a 27-year-old headache in South Africa’s public transport sector, proclaiming the immediate commencement of the Transport Appeal Tribunal Amendment Act.

The proclamation was gazetted on Monday, 17 August 2026, bringing into force a law the President signed in April 2025 after more than five years of parliamentary processing.

The Transport Appeal Tribunal was established in 1998 to deal with appeals related to public operating licences and permits, taking over from the old National Transport Commission. But the original 1998 law had no bite.

According to the Department of Transport, decisions of the Tribunal were often simply ignored, with regulatory entities acting as “a law unto themselves.” This forced taxi operators, bus companies and other public transport operators to approach expensive courts to enforce their rights.

The long-standing operational bottlenecks, legal gaps and lack of enforcement powers have now been closed.

Under the newly commenced Act, the Tribunal can now take appropriate steps where its decisions are not implemented or not effected timeously. It is also empowered to investigate delays in the completion of its own proceedings — effectively giving its rulings weight and consequence for the first time.

The amendments also update key definitions to align with developments in the transport sector since 1998, and introduce administrative reforms, including allowing the Minister of Transport to extend the term of office of Tribunal members to retain experience and streamline appointments.

The law was passed by Parliament in December 2024 and signed in April 2025. Its commencement this week marks a major step towards stability and fairness in the regulation of South Africa’s critical public transport industry. The full Act is available on the Government Gazette.