DURBAN - eThekwini commuters will have to scramble for public transport on Tuesday because certain South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) regions will not be operating because the eThekwini Municipality was allegedly impounding taxis and there was a lack of communication between them.
Santaco Durban Central chairperson Yusuf Khaliva said the strike will be as a result of the eThekwini Municipality impounding some of its taxis and a lack of communication.
“Firstly, we want to apologise to the commuters who will be affected due to the strike. We are faced with a number of issues as the taxi industry in Durban. The municipality has been impounding our taxis consistently without providing a solution as to when they are willing to release them upon the payment of fines,” said Khalifa.
“Also, we are fined unreasonably high amounts of money for meagre offences. For instance, a driver could be fined R2 000 or R5 000 for just offloading on the side of the road… just tell me when you fine someone that kind of money who only gets paid R3 000 per week how are they expected to pay it back in full within a week and resume operations?”
He said the municipality has been unwilling to speak to the association and listen to its concerns, which is why it has opted to disrupt the city’s operations.
“We have been writing to the municipality and calling in the hope they would be willing to speak to us, but our cries have fallen into deaf ears. The municipality is the one playing with people’s lives. We need off-loading places and bus stops to accommodate the taxi industry and avoid the off-loading everywhere, but the municipality seems to prioritise everyone but the taxi operators,” said Khalifa.
In a Facebook post, in the form of a video, Khaliva apologised to the north, south, Durban central and west regions because taxis will not be operating on Tuesday.
It said it was because the municipality had impounded many taxis. Moreover, other vehicles had their disks removed… Vehicles that had their disks removed about three weeks ago are still parked in their owners' homes.
Therefore they decided it was enough because vehicles were not benefiting, instead, they were paying the municipality.
eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said the municipality was open to engage Santaco but has a duty to enforce its by-laws.
“The city has a responsibility of enforcing by-laws to the benefit of all its stakeholders. Under no circumstances shall it overlook people who are breaking the law. There is no number of threats that are going to force the city to disregard the rule of law.
“However, its doors are always open for constructive engagement. It will forever denounce any acts of sabotaging its day-to-day operations,” said Mayisela.
Daily News