By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The City of Cape Town has on Monday night granted an interim order limiting anyone in the taxi industry from blocking roads in the metropole; to either harm or delay passengers using other transport.
Judge Patrick Gamble also ordered that nobody in the taxi industry go within 100 metres of a transport depot.
“This is a matter which cries out for urgent mediation and urgent intervention at a high level,” said Gamble.
It comes amid the violent taxi strike by members of the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) in the Western Cape, which entered its fifth day on Monday.
The taxi stay-away continued on Monday after Santaco’s Western Cape leadership, City of Cape Town MMC for Urban Mobility Roberto Quintas, and Western Cape Minister of Mobility Ricardo Mackenzie failed to reach an agreement on Sunday afternoon.
Santaco issued a statement on Sunday evening confirming that the stay-away will continue until Wednesday.
Western Cape Premier Alan Winde says the provincial government remains gravely concerned at the devastating impact caused by the strike called by the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) in the province.
This comes after six Golden Arrow buses were torched due to arson attacks since the taxi strike on Thursday, 3 August 2023.
This has forced the company to terminate its bus services in Khayelitsha, Nyanga, Philippi East, Langa, and Mfuleni, while many roads remain closed.
The Golden Arrow has since secured a court order on Sunday against Santaco to stop intimidating, harassing, threatening, or interfering with Golden Arrow, its employees, and passengers.
“I am appalled at the scale of violence that has not only dealt a severe blow to our economy and critical services but has also delegitimised and damaged Western Cape’s Santaco cause.
“This violence and damage to property has continued this morning. I will be holding a special Cabinet meeting this morning with key leadership from the City of Cape Town to assess what further steps need to be taken and the impact on services,” he said on Monday.
The Premier has again called for taxi leaders affiliated with the council to intensify all efforts to de-escalate the violence and urgently find a resolution to the dispute.
He added, “All sides, more especially residents and commuters, are being harmed by this stay away. We must find common ground now.”
Western Cape MEC for Mobility, Ricardo Mackenzie, said the province is concerned that the strike continues even after urgent engagements throughout the weekend.
“The withdrawal of minibus taxi services since Thursday has had a devastating impact. As the provincial government we are working extremely hard to resolve ongoing issues in the industry and establish new terms of engagement that will ensure the safety of commuters and road users.”
Many healthcare facilities have been forced to operate at reduced capacity. These include Tygerberg, Red Cross, and Groote Schuur hospitals and the community health centres and clinics.
While Tygerberg and Salt River forensic pathology services are operational, the province said the response to scenes would be delayed in red zones, as this will also only occur under the protection of law enforcement escorts.
In addition, many Western Cape Department of Social Development staff will have to work from home, due to the volatility of the situation.
The department will also have to temporarily close its offices in several areas.
The Premier said: This situation is untenable and unacceptable. Our residents cannot be forced to endure this lawlessness. All parties must return to negotiations”.
MEC for Police Oversight and Community Safety, Reagen Allen, has condemned the burning and damage to all property, particularly safety-related resources.
“Contingency plans have been adopted to ensure that the burning of the law enforcement vehicles in Delft will have no operational impact on the deployment of Law Enforcement Advancement (LEAP) officers in the area.”
LEAP, according to the provincial government, is fully operational and part of interventions where required across Cape Town in particular.
Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga said that the situation is concerning.
“This is a matter that is seriously concerning us, particularly on the side of lawlessness that we are seeing. Whether it is from the taxi industry or the law enforcement agencies themselves, we can’t condone that,” she said.
Chikunga added the fines to get unroadworthy minibus taxis out of impound lots are frustrating to the industry and that the matter needs attention at a national level.