Revealed: Motsa's plans for his bus rank

He suggests a total of 46 public transport vehicles for the use of the proposed rank.

The site plan has been slated for consideration by the Municipal Council of Manzini.

Part of the plan, which was shown to the Times by reliable sources before it was submitted to the Council, shows a shopping mall, parking space as well as office space.

The bus rank will accommodate at least 10 big buses and 36 kombis at full capacity.

Parking will also be available for general shoppers.

If the plans are eventually approved, they will change the look of the eastern part of the city for good.

Motsa was unavailable for comment when called to provide details on the proposed resumption of construction. However, Council Public Relations Officer, Matho-koza Thwala, confirmed that the plans were submitted to Council.

"Council will look at them in the same manner that it looks at all other plans submitted to it," he said.

A scoping meeting for the development of the area is expected to feature opposition, since recently the rate-payers petitioned council not to approve the construction of a bus rank in the area.

The Sydney Williams School in particular complains that a bus rank is not conducive to a learning environment. There is also a women’s clinic directly opposite the proposed development.

Motsa’s site hogged headlines recently when East-bound transport operators forcefully moved to it and abandoned the Satellite Bus Rank. However, the Council took Motsa to court, arguing that he should not be allowing the operators to use his property unofficially.　

The court gave the operators three days to vacate Motsa’s property and move to the Satellite Bus Rank. Though the operators obliged, they then went on strike. Currently they are using the Satellite Bus Rank after a court order calling on operators to refrain from boycotting the public transport services.

Public transport continued as normal over the past weekend following the court order, though a strike action is still anticipated from May 29 to June 8.

In a press release issued by the Swaziland Transport and Allied Workers Union last week, after the court ruling they said, "The Union is still exhausting legal procedures with regard to Section 40 of the Industrial Relations Act of 2000, as amended. A legal national strike caused by STAWU is still set to commence from May 29 to June 8, 2012. The said matter’s statutory period in which the Labour Advisory Board was to enroll it, has since elapsed and the Union is therefore proceeding with the remaining legalities enshrined in the very same Act."

Motsa in a previous interview had stated that he was willing to develop the property for the benefit of residents of the city as well as the public transport operators.

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