The Western Cape Premier and the City of Cape Town have welcomed the end of the violent taxi protest, but have criticised the loss of life and disruption to the economy, saying it could have been averted if the taxi association accepted the same offer made a week ago.
On Thursday evening, the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) accepted the city’s offer to release vehicles they believed were “wrongly impounded” and agree on when they can be impounded.
Santaco agreed that a taxi can be impounded when it is not roadworthy or has no operating licence. This is in line with national legislation.
The taxi stayaway kept hundreds of thousands of people from work, led to schools and clinics being closed, and surgeries being cancelled as many nurses were absent.
Five people were killed, including a British doctor who took a wrong turn into Nyanga township, with DA MP Manny De Freitas warning the protest was bad for tourism, a key sector of Cape Town’s economy.
The city said the proposal offered and accepted on Thursday was no different to the one made when the protest action started.
“It bears noting that Santaco accepted the same proposal that the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape government originally put on the table last Friday,” said mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
“The tragic implication is that the violence, the deplorable loss of life and the damage to property and to our local economy was for naught.”
The details of the agreement include that impoundments under the National Land Transportation Act will continue for vehicles driving without an operating licence; on the incorrect route; without a driver’s licence; or for vehicles which are not roadworthy.
The city said that “road safety is a non-negotiable.”
The taxi task team, which includes government and Santaco officials, will spend the next 14 days making a list of additional serious offences that can lead to impoundment. They will also make a list of minor issues that cannot lead to a vehicle being seized. Santaco had said the city was impounding vehicles for reasons not permitted under legislation.
The city said “if Santaco believes that any of their taxis have been impounded for these minor offences, then they can produce the relevant impoundment notices and the city will then make representations to the public prosecutor to support the release of these vehicles”.
It was also agreed that Santaco will never call a strike during the middle of a work day, leaving commuters stranded and walking on highways in the dark to get home. Instead, they will always give 36 hours’ notice.
Premier Alan Winde said commuters must “never again” be stranded.
Secondly, before calling strike action, the task team will be able to escalate disputes directly to the premier and the mayor.
Any resumption of taxi violence will nullify the agreement, the city said.
Hill-Lewis added the city had not backed down on its demands or given in to violence.
“While I deplore the impact of this entirely unnecessary strike, Cape Town has set an important precedent for SA’s future. By steadfastly refusing to capitulate before violence and anarchy, Cape Town has not conceded an inch on our commitment to the rule of law.”
Winde said: “I am still very angry about the scale of violence that accompanied the strike. It is unacceptable and tragic that five people were killed; buses, private vehicles and property were attacked and burnt; and roads were blockaded and people were cut off from essential services such as health and education. Violence is not how we resolve our issues.”
Santaco on Thursday evening apologised for the inconvenience of the strike and sent a “heartfelt thank you” for commuters’ patience, and expressed condolences to families who lost relatives in the violence.
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