Statement by the Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith
As the taxi strike enters its second week and as taxi associations CATA and CODETA refuse to come to an agreement, even with the interventions of all three spheres of government, today marks the fourth day where we have seen no incidents of violence.
At the first briefing of the day this morning, there were no reports of any violence linked to the ongoing taxi conflict. The same was true over the past weekend, which means the violence was limited to Friday last week and Tuesday morning this week.
However, we have been informed of continuous incidents of intimidation levelled at Golden Arrow Bus Service (GABS) drivers and commuters and even attempts at throwing paint at the windscreens of GABS buses.
This is most unfortunate, particularly as GABS has taken the decision to start increasing the number of buses operating, to assist commuters who have been forced to take time off work or left stranded due to the unavailability of public transport, but also due to concerns for their personal safety.
These acts are cowardly and reprehensible and cannot be condoned. The City supports the statements by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula and Transport MEC Daylin Mitchell and calls on CATA and CODETA to immediately resolve their issues and to leave others out of their dispute.
Just because they are not operating, does not mean they have the right to hold the public to ransom. CATA and CODETA cannot attempt to enforce their strike on other taxi associations or GABS.
The public have a right to public transport and CATA and CODETA do not have the right to extend their strike to other public transport suppliers through intimidation and violence.
This is criminal and we call on the South African Police Service and the criminal justice system to prioritise these cases and ensure that the public see the law being applied to violent offenders in CATA and CODETA. The City expresses its sincere appreciation to the Provincial Commissioner of SAPS, Lieutenant General Patekile, for his interventions to put in place a dedicated team to address the violence and investigate the attackers.
While CATA and CODETA taxis have been on strike, other taxi associations are operating and GABS has today resumed 95% of their operations at ranks and Public Transport Interchanges (PTIs) across the City.
This includes Khayelitsha, Langa, Samora Machel and Nyanga where operations resumed this morning from the area in front of Nyanga SAPS near the rank. Spiteful minibus taxis affiliated to either CATA or CODETA blocked the Nyanga rank late last night by abandoning their vehicles to obstruct access. The City’s Safety and Security Directorate is currently formulating an operational plan, along with SAPS, to have these vehicles impounded and towed away.
The robust enforcement interventions and operations by the City through its Traffic, Metro Police and Law Enforcement departments as well as the deployment of the South African Police have managed to suppress further violence by CATA and CODETA.
This has included daily deployments to protect PTIs and escort vehicles starting from 04:00. The City wants to thank the SAPS for its close cooperation and diligence in the operations this week in relation to the taxi strike as well as during last week to prevent looting incidents
The Safety and Security Directorate will support the efforts by the Transport Department and the Western Cape Provincial Government and National Government to bring the taxi strike to a close and will support the proclamation being issued by MEC Mitchell today that will take effect on Monday and which will impose further measures on CATA and CODETA.
The City’s enforcement services, in conjunction with SAPS, have increased patrols in areas that could be considered targets or hot spots and we call on the public to report any suspicious behaviour or imminent threats to the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre by dialing 021 480 7700 from a cellphone or 107 from a landline.
Source: City of Cape Town