The leadership of the National Taxi Alliance (NTA) has urged transport minister Fikile Mbalula to release the Covid-19 relief funds for the industry or face further sturdy resistance.
Yesterday, the Pretoria inner city came to a standstill as taxi drivers caused havoc in the city and around Gauteng – blocking roads and leaving thousands of commuters stranded as they marched to the Union Buildings to hand over their memorandum to Mbalula's office.
While the NTA had promised that their strike would be peaceful and other citizens would be allowed to “go on with their business” during its march, the opposite happened.
Taxi drivers used their vehicles to block some roads in Gauteng as they held their national protest. Traffic on the N1 in Johannesburg came to a standstill, while the N14, M1 and all major roads that lead into Tshwane were also disrupted.
A Tshwane bus was hijacked and passengers removed violently, forcing the city to temporarily suspend its bus services. There were also two incidents where a taxi driver attacked journalists who were capturing the march.
When the march reached the Union Buildings, a couple stood on their flat balcony watching the protest. Taxi drivers threw stones at the building, breaking the windows of the flat and forcing the couple to run for cover.
The NTA condemned the incidents and simply called for law enforcement to “step in”.
While handing over the memorandum of demands, NTA president Francis Masitsa said Mbalula could not hold on to the R1.135bn Covid-19 relief fund for the taxi sector for ever.
“We are not here to beg because that money is ours. It was given to us by the president [Cyril Ramaphosa]. We will not allow you to eat your money and then hold on to ours. If you don’t come back to us within 14 days, woe unto you,” Masitsa said.
The taxi alliance plans to go to the high court to get an order compelling Mbalula to release the sector’s Covid-19 relief funds.
Mbalula's requirements for accessing the funds have infuriated the taxi bosses. Taxi operators are required to be registered for income tax and other applicable taxes related to running a business in SA. The NTA sees these as hurdles aimed at preventing the sector from accessing the funds.
Furthermore, the NTA wants the government to recognise it as an independent body to which taxi associations can freely belong.
This stance comes after a national taxi lekgotla last month endorsed the NTA's rivals, the SA National Taxi Council, as the apex body of the entire industry in the country.
At the lekgotla, which the NTA boycotted, resolutions were taken aimed at starting the process to formalise the industry.
Masitsa described the resolutions as “particles dust”.
Mbalula has maintained in the past that he was willing to engage the NTA on the differences that the organisation had with his decision.
Sowetan sent questions to Mbalula’s office on Tuesday on the relief fund but these were not answered at the time of publication despite the office confirming receipt of the queries.
Sowetan made follow-up telephone calls yesterday but the person we were referred to could not be reached as he was said to be attending a family bereavement.
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