BARBERTON – A devastating fire destroyed 10 buses at Buscor’s local depot, causing an estimated R50-R60 million in damages.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, December 17, with one bus reportedly catching fire and spreading to nine others.
Provincial leaders, including Roads and Transport MEC Thulasizwe Thomo, MEC for Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Jackie Macie, Acting Provincial Commissioner, Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi, and Buscor’s executive chairperson Norah Fakude-Nkuna, visited the depot on Thursday, December 18 to assess the damage. Police confirmed an investigation is ongoing, with no conclusions reached yet.
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“At this point, we don’t have any leads, except to say we saw the fire. The investigation has just started and we need to give it a chance,” said Acting Provincial Commissioner Mkhwanazi. Speaking during the visit, Buscor Executive Manager Norah Fakude-Nkuna confirmed the fire destroyed buses worth between R50 million and R60 million. “The inconvenience is that we don’t have a spare bus right now. This incident is a wake-up call,” she said.
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Public Works, Roads and Transport MEC Thulasizwe Thomo said the cause of the fire is still unknown, and the department is “highly affected” by the incident. “Buscor is one company, including other companies that we are working with in the department, that has created a number of jobs. So, we are highly affected, and the people of this province, particularly the people of Ehlanzeni, are highly affected,” he said, praising Buscor’s swift response to the fire.
MEC for Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Jackie Macie, added, “We want to call upon our citizens in the province not to speculate. Let’s make sure that we wait for the investigation to be concluded so that we get to the bottom of exactly what had happened.”
