While the City of Cape Town has welcomed the end of Santaco’s taxi strike, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has denounced a week of unnecessary violence and destruction after the taxi organisation accepted the proposal that was put before them last Friday.
Also read: Update: Santaco to deliberate CoCT’s proposal as meeting adjourns
Following yesterday’s resolution, the mayor said that he was appreciative of the constructive approach taken by the minibus taxi association but added that this point could have been reached far sooner and with less of a detrimental impact on the economy and lives of residents.
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‘It bears noting that Santaco today accepted the same proposal that the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government originally put on the table last Friday,’ he said in a statement.
‘The tragic implication is that all of the violence, the deplorable loss of life, and the damage to property and to our local economy – was for naught.’
‘Last Friday, everything agreed to today was on the table, when the strike was less than 24 hours old and could have been stopped then.’
The Taxi Stay Away in the Western Cape province has been called off with immediate effect.
Read full statement below. pic.twitter.com/ZwbLABwQYf
— SANTACO (@SA_Taxis) August 10, 2023
The details of the agreement include that impoundments under the National Land Transportation Act (NLTA) will continue for vehicles driving without an operating licence, on the incorrect route, without a driver’s licence, or that are not roadworthy.
The parties agreed that the Taxi Task Team will further define a list, within 14 days, of additional major offences in terms of which vehicles will continue to be impounded in the future. This will take the form of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to guide enforcement staff in the exercise of the discretionary power provided for in the NLTA.
CoCT’s focus on the task team will be to ensure that all traffic offences that impact commuter safety remain major offences. Road safety for commuters and other road users is a non-negotiable, a position the City has not budged on.
The task team will similarly compile an agreed-upon list of minor offences that do not have commuter safety implications and will not be impoundable.
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The City continues to believe it will be able to demonstrate to Santaco that we have already been following this distinction for some time.
Importantly, if Santaco believes that any of their taxis have been impounded for these minor offences, 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.
Santaco has also agreed that they will never again call a strike during the middle of a working day and that they will always give at least 36 hours’ notice ahead of planned strike action.
‘We should never again see a repeat of thousands of people being forced to walk home,’ added Hill-Lewis.
Secondly, before calling strike action, the task team will now have a dispute escalation and resolution clause to escalate disputes directly to the premier and mayor before a strike action will be considered.
The entire agreement stipulates that there will be no future resumption of taxi-related violence. Any resumption of taxi violence will nullify the agreement.
I’m relieved this destructive #TaxiStrike is over, with the rule of law intact.
Our agreement today mirrors the one discussed last Friday. The sad violence that followed gained nothing and cost much.
A significant marker – violence can’t be used as a bargaining chip. pic.twitter.com/1aPbaK8yPp
— Geordin Hill-Lewis (@geordinhl) August 10, 2023
‘While I deplore the impact of this entirely unnecessary strike, Cape Town has set an important precedent for South Africa’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,’ said Hill-Lewis.
‘The message is clear: in Cape Town, the laws of this country apply equally to everyone and violence will not extract concessions from this government.’
‘My thoughts are with our communities who bore the brunt of this and I want to assure them that we will continue to fight for the safety of them and their loved ones as they travel around our city.’
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Picture: JP Smith / Facebook