MADLANGA COMMISSION: Sibanyoni’s Putco quote puts concentrate on political gain access to, service interests

The Madlanga Commission was revealed video footage on Wednesday of Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni taking his business aspirations straight to President Cyril Ramaphosa and Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe. In the video, he requires a 30% regional stake in Putco and states that anybody hindering the bus business need to understand “it’s us”.

The exchange exposes not just Sibanyoni’s political gain access to, however his business aspirations and supposed impact in the general public transportation sector.

The Putco proof before the commission likewise brought into focus the blockades and attacks that targeted the bus business, events in which Sibanyoni rejected any participation.

The video reveals Sibanyoni declaring to be speaking on behalf of the neighborhood in KwaNdebele, the previous apartheid-era homeland whose area was mainly included into Mpumalanga after 1994.

This was all part of proof from 4 days of testament and interrogation in which Sibanyoni dealt with concerns about supposed extortion, organization relationships, payments and his links to prominent political and organization figures.

As previous president southern African Local and Long Distance Taxi and Bus Organisation, Sibanyoni formerly informed the commission that there had actually been 2 efforts on his life– in 2006 and 2022. He declared that Jothan Msibi, referred to as a “Big Five” cartel leader who passed away in 2024, lagged the very first effort. Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala and others have actually been charged in connection with the 2nd effort in 2022.

Sibanyoni, associate Oupa Bafana Sindane and 2 others deal with charges of extortion and cash laundering in the Kwaggafontein Magistrates’ Court in Mpumalanga.

The claims connect to Ntuli’s Tengane Mining, which acquired a mining right in Mkobola in December 2022 to provide aggregate to King Civil, the SA National Road Agency’s(Sanral’s )primary professional for part of the Moloto Road.

Sibanyoni takes Putco combat to Ramaphosa, Mantashe

The Putco proof before the commission opened with a January 2024 photo of Sibanyoni with President Ramaphosa and Minister Mantashe.

Sibanyoni stated the photo was taken throughout an electioneering check out by Ramaphosa and Mantashe to conventional and royal homes, to engage with neighborhoods and listen to their issues. He stated Sergeant Fannie Nkosi sent him the picture on 19 January 2024.

The commission then played video of Sibanyoni straight resolving Ramaphosa and Mantashe about Putco.

“We are fans of the ANC. We wish to contribute,” Sibanyoni stated, before informing the 2 political leaders that they remained in conversations with Putco, which had actually run in the location for 43 years, however were dealing with “a great deal of bureaucracy”.

“Please help us,” he informed the President and Mantashe.

He then provided the most pointed message in the video: “When you discover somebody wishing to disrupt the Putco service, you need to understand it’s us,” Sibanyoni included. He stated they were defending a 30% stake in the business, which he declared had actually been gazetted for individuals of the location.

“We will defend ourselves,” he stated.

He extended the caution beyond Putco, informing the politicians they would likewise check out the mines: “When you see individuals at the mines you need to understand it is us.”

He ended with a direct appeal: “Don’t combat us, simply support us.”

Sibanyoni intervention under analysis

Proof leader supporter Matthew Chaskalson SC informed the commission that Gauteng Central Bus Services (GCBS) and Putco had actually stayed in business together because 2019/20, with GCBS operating as a Putco subcontractor years before Sibanyoni ended up being included.

The chairperson questioned why Sibanyoni had actually intervened in an existing business relationship. Sibanyoni stated he was acting for GCBS over the R50,000 Putco paid per bus, which he argued was inadequate to cover funding and operating expense.

He stated he promoted the payment to increase to about R90,000 per bus to cover instalments, running expenses and motorists. The taxi association likewise desired a brand-new contract enabling GCBS to get buses and looked for neighborhood and traditional-leader sponsorships and advancement assistance.

The proof put Sibanyoni’s intervention directly inside an existing Putco-GCBS industrial plan, raising concerns about his function in promoting a considerably bigger payment under the Moloto Road agreement.

Putco bus arson claims under analysis

CCTV video from Putco’s Moloto depot recorded armed guys holding employees at gunpoint and torching buses on 27 January 2025. A combustible liquid was sprayed over the buses before they were set alight. In all, 51 Putco buses were burnt throughout 3 depots.

Sibanyoni rejected participation in the attacks, and rather recommended Putco might have torched its own buses amidst labour and market conflicts, although he had no proof for the theory.

Chaskalson challenged this claim, mentioning that no strike or market disagreement was under method at Putco when the buses were torched.

Sibanyoni preserved that individuals associated with obstructing Putco buses might possibly have actually been connected to the attacks.

He likewise pointed out problems about Putco’s aging fleet and failure to change buses, connecting this to mishaps on the Moloto Road, called the “death roadway” since of its history of deadly crashes.

Account of Taxichoice’s quote to purchase Putco queried

Sibanyoni’s testament positioned his Putco aspirations versus a business that had actually currently made its position clear: it did not wish to offer.

He informed the commission that his last engagement with Putco was getting a report-back on 2 August 2024.

Chaskalson pushed him on whether he had actually currently approached Putco about purchasing the bus business. Sibanyoni stated no.

Chaskalson put it to him that Taxichoice, an affiliate of the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco), composed to Putco on 25 February 2025 with an “unsolicited deal” to get a stake in, or the whole of, the organization.

Chaskalson highlighted the significance of the phrasing: purchasing an organization “as a going issue” indicated purchasing business itself.

Sibanyoni ultimately acknowledged that Taxichoice had actually approached Putco in 2024 with a view to purchasing out the business.

Putco’s action months later on left little space for obscurity. In reaction to a 25 February 2025 Taxichoice letter, the bus business explained the timing and material of the technique as troubling, especially versus the background of what it called “thoroughly arranged and abhorrent attacks” on its staff members and buses.

Its position was blunt: “At the beginning, Putco is not on the marketplace.”

Putco set high conditions for any authentic expression of interest– consisting of a R100-million non-refundable payment and a minimum R2-billion money assurance to its investors.

Chaskalson distilled the action: “We do not wish to offer.”

Sibanyoni’s response was similarly plain: after getting Putco’s reaction, “we chose not to pursue the matter”. DM