Johannesburg taxi associations are tightening checks on migrant drivers and urging owners to ensure that everyone they employ has the documents required to live, work and drive legally in SA.
The Faraday Taxi Association was the first to announce it had temporarily suspended migrant drivers who were unable to show they have the documents required.
Other associations are also conducting similar checks, while at least one maintains that immigration enforcement remains the responsibility of the state.
Vusi Macheke, chairperson of the Ivory Park Taxi Association, said it had relatively few migrant drivers but was also urging owners to ensure that everyone they employed complied with the law.
“The number is not the main issue. Any person who is working as a driver must have the correct documents and must comply with South African law,” he said.
Macheke said taxi owners and associations had a responsibility to establish who was driving their vehicles and whether they had valid driving and employment documents.
“We want everyone to follow the law. Drivers must have the right licence and permits, and migrants must also have the documents that allow them to live and work in South Africa,” he said.
Mthunzi Nxumalo, the spokesperson for the Alexandra Taxi Association, said immigration enforcement was not the association’s responsibility.
“It is not our concern who is documented and who isn’t. This thing is for the government. They need to sort it out themselves,” Nxumalo said.
He estimated that about 100 drivers from Zimbabwe and other African countries worked through the association and said those known to it had permits and valid licences.
“How can we chase them if they’re properly documented? Maybe other people don’t have the right documents, so they should get it. But it is not for us to do that,” said Nxumalo.
Nxumalo said the association did not participate in March and March protests or visits to migrants’ homes and businesses, adding that the mobilisation had harmed taxi operators working in Alexandra and among the association’s routes.
“We just want to do our work. These protests have affected our work because now people don’t want to be out on the streets or use our taxis. It has had a big effect on our income and our work.”
National Taxi Alliance spokesperson Theo Malele said the organisation instructed owners and associations earlier this year to verify that their drivers had the required documents. “We made such an announcement earlier this year as soon as we started hearing dissenting voices about the migration issue in society. We made an announcement that taxi owners and associations should ensure that people have the correct documentation to be in the country and to drive taxis,” he said.
“The only thing that we can’t control is when taxis come from other countries such as Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Lesotho. When they come from those countries, there’s nothing we can do about them because they’re not owned by South Africans. We still see a lot of that,” said Malele.
Faraday Taxi Association spokesperson Sihle Makhanya said the suspension was intended to give affected drivers time to obtain the necessary documentation rather than remove them permanently.
“This is not a permanent ban. Once they have sorted out their documents and can show us that they meet the legal requirements, they will be allowed to come back and work,” said Makhanya.
The measures come as groups including March and March have organised protests and visited homes and businesses in search of undocumented migrants. The protests have coincided with a government crackdown involving increased workplace inspections, action against employers, tighter border controls and efforts to accelerate deportations.
In an address to the nation on the issue of migration on June 7, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the police, home affairs and the department of employment and labour were increasing inspections of companies suspected of employing undocumented migrants. The department had also begun the phased recruitment of 10,000 inspectors, while dedicated immigration courts would be established to process cases and deportations more quickly.
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