Cape Town - The EFF marchers on Monday demanded the keys to taxis that had been impounded.
Their much-anticipated demonstration started on the field near Vangate Mall, on Jakes Gerwel Drive.
Protesters accused the police of barring some of their members driving in from Hermanus, but were informed by police that there had been an accident.
Hundreds of taxis arrived carrying people wearing red EFF shirts.
The party had suffered a loss in partnership with the ANC, a Sanco faction and People’s Movement for Change (PMC), but other partners including the Sanco faction led by Chris Stali, the PAC and the Land Party were present.
EFF provincial chairperson Unathi Ntame said: “South Africa was never liberated around the dinner table, it was liberated on the streets, and JP Smith doesn’t understand the language of discussions. Yesterday, we made him understand the language of the streets. Yesterday was the last day of these nonsensical impoundments.”
Ntame said the South African National Taxi Council was present at the march, but as members of political parties.
“We believe this is an injustice to the taxi industry, and as the EFF we fight any injustice wherever it exists. We don’t ask for the membership card.
“The DA-led City is still continuing with its propaganda machinery. They engaged Santaco comrades and said they were going to relax the nonsensical conditions whereby they’d been impounding taxis wrongly for two months, where only the cars which are not roadworthy, vehicles without permits and a driver without a licence will be impounded.
“The review process could have positive or negative outcomes, but this is a postponement, JP Smith will continue making R1.5 million for the City through impoundments.”
About 500 protesters walked on Jakes Gerwel Drive, then made their way to Pinelands, then Maitland and stopped in front of the Maitland traffic impound facility on Alexandra Road.
Some of their demands were that the City give the industry operating licences and also to hand over the keys to the rightful owners.
The marchers told the City to halt the Urban Mobility Summit that starts this morning until there are resolutions to the demands.
Mayco member for urban mobility Roberto Quintas accepted the memorandum and told the demonstrators that people could go to the mayor and provide the reasons they thought their cars were unlawfully impounded.
He was whisked away after Ntame grabbed the microphone from him while he was addressing the crowd.
mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za