Cape Town - After a week of a devastating minibus taxi strike in which five lives were lost – including that of a British tourist – the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) last night called off its stay-away in Cape Town.
In a statement, Santaco provincial chairperson Mandla Hermanus said that the end of the strike was called after “painstaking deliberations and immense pressure on all parties involved”.
Last week’s traffic law enforcement operation at the Station Deck minibus taxi rank, where several vehicles had been impounded, had been the catalyst for the latest stay away, as Santaco members protested the City’s application of a new, amended traffic by-law.
However, safety and security Mayco member JP Smith insisted during the week that vehicles which had been impounded had fallen foul of the National Land Transport Act.
In his statement, Hermanus said his organisation was saddened and disappointed that it had taken more than a week to resolve the impasse with the City and provincial administrations.
“The well-being of our community and the public at large has always been our top priority, and it pains us to witness the unnecessary pain and suffering that transpired,” said Hermanus.
This comes as criminal elements took advantage of the chaos, particularly in townships, to loot stores and attack motorists.
In the most shocking incident, British surgeon Kar Hao Teoh, 40, was shot dead while driving after he had taken a wrong turn-off from Cape Town International Airport and ended up in Nyanga on the first night of the strike last week.
Hermanus said there had been an agreement that for the next two weeks, the minibus taxi industry and the local authorities would work on the release of the vehicles which had been “wrongly impounded”.
Earlier in the day, during an urgent debate on the taxi strike sponsored by the ANC in the provincial legislature, Premier Alan Winde said before the strike was announced last Thursday afternoon, members of the government and political parties were seen meeting with members of the taxi industry.
“When it started off that morning, suddenly you saw political parties, and even national government, in meetings with the industry before they called the strike.
“There was no feedback (from these meetings) to the provincial government or to the local government (and) that raised many questions. It still does. What political involvement was there in the strike from the very beginning? Those questions will be around and I hope when this is over, we have a proper investigation around this,” Winde said.
During the debate, leader of the official opposition Cameron Dugmore (ANC) laid out a set of eight proposals to deal with the crisis. These proposals included concessions to be made by both sides.
The City’s concession, according to the Dugmore plan, would be to immediately suspend the impounding of taxis, while Santaco was asked to suspend the strike immediately.
Ahead of the debate, Winde, flanked by mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, Mobility MEC Ricardo Mackenzie, Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen and Mayco member for urban mobility Roberto Quintas spent three hours in crisis talks with Santaco officials.
Emerging from the closed-door talks held in the provincial government offices in Wale Street, Winde said they had given Santaco an offer which the officials had taken back to their offices in Bellville to discuss with their members.
📢 Update following engagements with the taxi association - Thursday, 10 August 2023. pic.twitter.com/WB6DvMLAKM
— Premier Alan Winde 🇿🇦 (@alanwinde) August 10, 2023
mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za