The South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) is adamant its members had nothing to do with the spurts of violence linked to the ongoing Cape Town taxi strike that, so far, has claimed at least four lives.
SANTACO says violence in Cape Town taxi strike is ‘fuelled by non members’
The leading taxi association in the ‘stay-away’ urgently called on its members to promote peace during the ‘shutdown’.
Addressing allegations of members within its ranks spreading fear and coordinating attacks on buses, motorists and public infrastructure, SANTACO, regretfully, “took notice of the violence and destruction of property and the loss of life that occurred over the last few days and this morning.”
“We are especially aggrieved by the perception of the public that we are lawless. This perception is being fuelled by protesters and not members of our organisation,” the group claimed.
SANTACO emphasised that they are “hard at work to resolve any and all disputes with the City of Cape Town.”
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However, this claim was not corroborated by City of Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, who, in a statement released on Monday afternoon, categorically accused SANTACO of “[negotiating] with a (literal) gun to our heads.”
According to the mayor, the City of Cape Town had reached an agreement with taxi associations in crunch talks held on Friday, 4 August 2023, on a peaceful end to the strike action.
However, a day later, “SANTACO made entirely new demands, and since then there has only been an escalation of violence.”
“SANTACO is free to end their strike and accept the terms of Friday’s discussions at any time,” Hill-Lewis said.
Seemingly laying the blame on the provincial government, SANTACO empathised with its members who, according to the organisation, “are upset by the unlawful actions of certain law enforcement officers that damaged taxis and assaulted some of our members’ drivers during the course of last week which in no small part precipitated the stay away action.”
“Nonetheless, be very clear, any violent protests are not sanctioned by this organisation. Peace cannot be obtained through destruction and violence. Any such actions are not helpgul to resolve our disputes with the City,” SANTACO exclaimed.
While SANTACO’s call for peace may reverberate across the taxi industry and spur a positive response, unfortunately, it came a tad bit too late.
According to the latest statistics released by Cape Town law enforcement authorities, more than 10 Golden Arrow buses have been torched, and at least four victims were killed violently since the start of the taxi strike.
Moreover, countless businesses sustained irreparable losses either due to arson attacks or looting, as seen at Gugulethu Mall and other parts of Cape Town.
“At this stage, approximately 1 500 various law enforcement officers have been deployed. This is inclusive of an additional 300 public order policing South Africa Police Service members,” City of Cape Town MEC for Community Safety and Police Oversight Reagan Allen revealed on Monday.
As things stand, the taxi strike is set to resume on Tuesday, 8 August 2023.
Follow live Cape Town traffic updates and incident reports related to the Cape Town taxi strike on Swisher Post.
