Commuters were relieved to hear that the minibus taxi industry stay-away planned for today was cancelled after yesterday’s meeting between the Western Cape’s provincial leaders and the executive of Santaco Western Cape.
The meeting committed to ongoing government and industry engagements and establishing a special task force.
Also read: Santaco calls off its mass taxi stay-away planned for Wednesday
The engagement was convened by the newly-appointed Mobility Minister, Ricardo Mackenzie, and aimed to minimise the impact that the stay-away would have had on commuters using public transport to get to work and school.
Santaco representatives from across the province, Premier Winde, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, and members of the provincial and city governments all attended the meeting.
Minister Mackenzie said, “The commitments made in today’s engagement indicate a show of good faith from all sides. Through the Task Team, we will work together to address the challenges faced by the minibus taxi industry and ensure people can travel safely this week.”
Premier Winde thanked the leadership of Santaco for agreeing to today’s meeting.
He said, “We need to find a way forward together to reach a sustainable solution to the grievances raised by the council. We must all ensure our residents come first and that they can move around safely and reliably.”
He added, “It is not just about averting this strike, which I am thrilled we have been able to achieve at a time when our economy is struggling amid stage 6 loadshedding; it is also about improving public transport, making it an economic enabler to meet the growing needs of our growing population. In an environment where we are facing increasing congestion and a dysfunctional passenger rail system that is unable to ease problems in the mobility sector, a longer-term issue for us is how we build an integrated public transport system that is the backbone and enabler of our economy and society. You, the minibus taxi industry, play a critical role in citizen mobility.”
Minister Mackenzie will now convene and chair the weekly task team, which includes representatives from the province and city, as well as the leadership of Santaco-Western Cape.
It was agreed that the task team would address issues such as expediting the special regulatory process for operating licences, training registered drivers to upskill them in critical skills and other measures to improve commuter safety.
Also read:
Western Cape innovator among Africa’s Top 100 Brightest Young Minds
Picture: @ricardomackenzi / Instagram
