Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga has confirmed that the Department of Transport expects to meet with both the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) and the City of Cape Town, following the taxi industry’s suspension of services.
Chikunga said that they have requested the MEC for Transport in the Western Cape to join them in ending the impasse, since it needed to be dealt with both nationally and provincially.
She added that they had invited the provincial, local, and national leadership of Santaco in order to find solutions to these problems.
Chikunga also called for taxi operators to reconsider the suspension of services, which has left thousands of commuters without transport.
Chikunga further condemned the violence that has been blamed on taxi drivers in the area.
Meanwhile, Western Cape MEC of Mobility, Ricardo Mackenzie said that he sincerely hopes Santaco will return to the negotiation table. This is so that they can get the work of the minibus taxi task team back on track.
"It is disappointing that industry leadership chose to suspend its participation in the task team, which was created in good faith to put our heads together and make progress on the pressing issues facing the industry.
“The solutions are not simple or instant, but we are tackling them, regardless, and we appreciate the complex challenges for minibus taxi operators, which link to the broader transportation crisis in South Africa.
“I trust that my colleagues in the national government will treat the matter of industry formalisation as a matter of urgency and start fulfilling the commitments made in this regard," Mackenzie said.
IOL