Unlicensed bus drivers have been transporting thousands of school children, risking substantial lawsuits against the government should they be injured or die in accidents.

This is the shocking finding of an investigation by auditor-general Kimi Makwetu, whose officials visited a sample of schools across the country, and has warned that this risks children's safety as well as multimillion-rand lawsuits.

"These issues risk the safety of learners and could result in claims against departments if learners are injured or die," warns Makwetu's July 2015 report obtained by Sowetan.

The investigation found that in Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Northern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and North West bus drivers without driver's licences and public driving permits had been hired for the Learner Transport Schemes (LTS).

This is despite various provincial education departments' policies on LTS stating that "contractors must ensure at all times that each driver is in possession of an appropriate, valid driver's licence and public driver's permit".

The policies also require passenger liability insurance of at least R50000 per accident for each pupil.

The auditor-general has previously found that there was a lack of insurance, but this has not been adequately addressed, according to the report.

Although Makwetu said the LTS demand management was generally good in the sample of schools, he did note instances where learners had to walk long distances to get to school because there was no transport budget.

Southern African Bus Operators Association (Saboa) executive manager Eric Cornelius said he was a bit surprised by Makwetu's remarks because when tenders are advertised, drivers having licences and public driving permits was a requirement.

"Roadworthiness, licences and public driving permits form part of the adjudication," he said.

Cornelius said a provincial education department took 18 months to adjudicate an LTS tender and none of the winning companies provided proof that they had buses and contingency plans for when buses break down.

"As a result, the bid winners contacted Saboa members wanting to rent buses. Clearly they failed to comply," Cornelius said.

Basic education department spokesman Elijah Mhlanga said the LTS was a joint function in provinces.

He said that in some provinces it was the transport or public works departments, depending on the setup.

"Education departments hardly deal with transport service providers," he said.

Mhlanga said it was important to establish exactly which provincial department contracted a company with unlicensed drivers so "we can hold the right people accountable".

"A blanket approach is not applicable in this instance because learner transport scheme is complex," Mhlanga said.

lsidimbal@sowetan.co.za