GENEVIEVE QUINTAL: Attention-hungry Fikile Mbalula’s decisions veer from bad to bizarre

Fikile Mbalula never lets anything come between himself and a photo op — not even the dreaded coronavirus.

When the 21-day national lockdown kicked in last week Mbalula, the transport minister, confidently stated at a press briefing that it was not time for “razzmatazz” — a nickname given to him when he was sports minister — but for fixing.

But it seems the minister needs to heed his own words. Mbalula met with leaders of the National Taxi Alliance (NTA) and SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) earlier in the week to discuss the effect Covid-19 is having on this unregulated industry, which transports 16.5-million passengers a day.

After the meeting the minister announced that the strict regulations in the public transport sector during the coronavirus lockdown were being relaxed, allowing taxis to carry full passenger loads provided passengers wore masks.

As bizarre and dangerous as the announcement about the taxis was, the minister’s decision to hold a media briefing at the MTN taxi rank in the Johannesburg CBD was just as bad. The notion of social distancing had flown out the window, despite his spokesperson reportedly asking people to adhere to the distancing directive. The minister stood there surrounded by journalists — deemed essential workers — as well as every passer-by who wanted to get a glimpse of Mbalula. It was even clear to those watching from home that this was a potentially dangerous situation in light of the way Covid-19 is spreading.

Mbalula is known for his extravagant antics and is not exactly camera-shy. So it was no surprise when he posted videos on social media of him helping sanitise taxis. But at a time of a pandemic like the current one, it is a wonder the ministers who are supposed to be leading by example are still insisting on holding briefings in areas where people are likely to gather. This on its own is simply irresponsible since it clearly puts them and everyone around them at risk.

Then, later on Wednesday evening Mbalula released a media statement amending the regulations for taxis yet again, this time reducing the maximum number of passengers to 70% of their licensed capacity. The minister said that since his announcement that taxis would be allowed to load passengers to 100% of their capacity, his department had received a number of queries from the public.

“After our announcement of catering for 100%, there was a public outcry about the impact of such an arrangement to the health and safety of public transport users. We took these issues seriously and engaged with key stakeholders, resulting in a consensus of maximising the loading capacity to 70%,” he said.

It is understood that Mbalula was called into line after issuing these regulations without consulting his fellow ministers in the national command council, which is led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, and had to change the directive he made earlier in the day. 

Why did Mbalula have to wait for a public outcry? Surely he was aware that this was not a good idea. But the government seems to be pandering to the taxi industry, putting the demands of the associations ahead of the safety of citizens. The government has in any event done very little to regulate the taxi industry, which usually gets its way through thuggery.

According to the new regulations, a minibus taxi licensed to carry 10 passengers will now be limited to carrying a maximum of seven passengers, while those licensed to carry 15 are limited to 10. A midi-bus permitted to carry a maximum of 22 passengers is now permitted to carry 15, while a commercial vehicle licensed to carry a maximum of four passengers is now allowed to carry two people.

While the regulations have been gazetted, we know the taxi industry has never been one to adhere to regulations. We constantly hear stories of overcrowded taxis or see for ourselves on the roads that there are clearly more than the allowed number of passengers.

So when Mbalula announced they were allowed to have 100% capacity, but with masks, it was unlikely that many taxi drivers were going to adhere to the regulations. This also goes against everything the government has been preaching about curbing the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

Now with the 70% regulation, bigger taxis will be allowed to carry 10 passengers at a time. This is still not a safe number. Mbalula said operators need to put measures in place to adhere to social-distancing norms to curb the coronavirus spread. All minibus and metered taxis and e-hailing providers have to be sanitised after each trip, while taxi ranks need to be sanitised at regular intervals.

This is all well and good, but it is not enough. The minister can stand there in his overalls spraying taxis while people take videos and photos of him, but in reality there is no way to be completely safe on public transport like this. It is also impossible for law enforcement agencies to ensure that all taxis are adhering to the regulations. Every day there are reports about how it is business as usual at taxi ranks around the country.  

Mbalula has once again allowed the industry to get its own way, and his “revised” regulations don’t do much to change the situation. We need clear, responsible leadership during these times, not leaders who think everything is a popularity contest.

• Quintal is political editor.