The South Africa National Taxi Council, Santaco, has extended its strike action by two days, contrary to an earlier resolve to end it on August 9.
This is coming after the council and the City of Cape Town failed to reach a truce.
The council in a statement, called on its members to exercise calm and patience, as they have commenced legal processes against the city to stop the impounding of their taxis.
“We appeal to all our members to be patient and allow us to complete this process. The application will be lodged within 48 hours and we will therefore not operate until this process is completed.
“We apologise for any inconvenience this might cause to our commuters and the public at large. We will keep you informed of any further developments,” the statement read.
The strike action turned violent following a decision by the City of Cape Town to impound vehicles for offences that previously required only fines.
Santaco’s Western Cape chairperson, Mandla Hermanus, had written a letter stating that the council wasn’t against impounding of vehicles so long as it was in accordance with the National Land Transport Act (NLTA), but against other malicious reasons.
“Santaco is…opposed to the impoundment of vehicles for any other reasons, other than those related to the statutory provisions mentioned above and it has been seen on many occasions where our vehicles have been the target of these enforcement drives instituted by the City of Cape Town and the MMC for Safety, Alderman JP Smith,” part of the letter read.
Violent incidents Monday propelled the Cape Town Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis to call for an immediate end to the seemingly escalating riots, adding that the negotiating language of Santaco was unacceptable.
“There has been a tremendous disruption to public services. We have seen a provincial government ambulance attack while carrying a patient. Fortunately the paramedics and patient were able to get out of the vehicle but the vehicle was torched. And this is just another example of the completely unacceptable violence that is the negotiating language of the South African taxi industry all too often.”
However, the Council in a short video, denied any involvement in the violence which has claimed over 5 lives with vehicles burnt, and property destroyed.
“We…want to distance ourselves as Santaco from the riots that have been taking place in our communities. We are not part of that. So, I just want to put that on record.”
On Tuesday, the Transport Minister, Sindiswe Chikunga condemned Cape Town’s new traffic by-law, describing it as illegal. She went ahead to plead that all vehicles impounded under the by-law should be released immediately to their owners.
The riots have however, lingered on despite the government stepping in to resolve issues. A 40-year old British national a⁷nd doctor was yesterday, shot dead when he ran into the violent protests after taking a wrong turn from the airport.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed concerns over the unrest. While speaking at this year’s Women’s Day, the South African president condemned the acts of violence being perpetuated.
“While our democracy protects peaceful protest and lawful strike action, we strongly condemn the violence and destruction caused by this dispute.”
“Blocked roads lead to blocked business, blocked education and blocked health services, which will have long-lasting effects on life in the city.”
“We must uphold the law and we must solve problems through meaningful dialogue,” he said.
