Cele steps in as irate taxi drivers strike after being ‘targeted’

Police Minister Bheki Cele is stepping in to resolve the current taxi issues and bring normality to Johannesburg residents’ daily commute.

Angry because they believe they’re being targeted by the authorities, taxi associations brought the City of Joburg to a standstill on Monday.

The associations called on Transport Minister Blade Nzimande to intervene following the “ill-treatment of the taxi industry by the government”.

Instead, they’re getting Cele, who will be hosting a press conference at the Johannesburg Metro Police Department’s head office in Martindale.

Cele, together with member of the mayoral committee for public safety in Gauteng, Councillor Michael Sun, will address their grievances.

JMPD spokesperson Wayne Minnaar told City Press that the strike would be addressed on Tuesday in order to try and reach some sort of consensus between the taxi associations and authorities, after a memorandum was handed over to the JMPD representing 11 taxi associations on Monday.

The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) is calling for more engagement from authorities, after the one-day taxi strike began on Monday morning.

This is according to Buti Mkhonza, Santaco chairperson, who said that taxi drivers are tired of the constant harassment that they face from the authorities.

Irate taxi drivers embarked on the one-day strike following the impounding of 500 taxis since the Johannesburg Metro Police began the operation in February this year.

Minnaar said the taxis which have been impounded were found to be on the wrong side of the law.

“These taxis are often pulled over by officials after driving in the yellow lane or ignoring the road signs. When they are pulled over they are found to be in poor conditions, with many with fake license discs and expired discs which date as far back as 2012. The officers can’t be expected to ignore these things,” Minaar said.

“In the same breath, however, there were also 140 trucks impounded for the same thing, from not having handbrakes to not having working lights,” he added.

Meanwhile, Cele warned that taxi violence would not be taken lightly and that taxi stations and operations would be shut down if commuters’ lives are put at risk.

“Taking of the law into [your] own hands by taxi associations and criminality will not be tolerated by government. Over the past three months innocent commuters have been shot and killed through taxi violence in the Western Cape,” Cele said.

“At the end of the day, it is the passengers who suffer. This is between the taxi drivers and the authorities, and as taxi operators and law enforcement, we should solve these issues together,” Mkhonza said.