Taxis are pictured parked in Florida, 16 March 2020, taxi drivers have not yet seen a drop in passengers but are concerned with hygiene in the Taxi. Picture: Tracy Lee Stark
The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) is set to meet Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula on Sunday to discuss the R1,135-billion Covid-19 relief fund for the taxi industry, which taxi owners opposed.
Santaco announced on Saturday morning that it was scheduled to meet with the Minister at 1pm which was later moved to 3pm.
“At 1pm, we will have a meeting with Transport Minister. We will then hold a national leadership meeting (by the evening). KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) will also present its decision in the meeting. We will then announce our decision on the way forward,” the council said.
This comes after Santaco KZN chairperson, Boy Zondi said taxis in the province plan to operate at full capacity from Monday and long-distance taxis plan to operate without permits.
“Taxis all over KZN will carry 100% passengers from Monday. The long-distance taxis should not be required to produce permits from Monday. Should any of these decisions be disrespected, we will shut down taxis throughout the province,” Zondi said in a statement.
He warned that should their members be stopped by law enforcement or traffic officers, they will shut down taxi ranks across the province.
READ MORE: WATCH: Rubber bullets fired as police clash with protesting taxi operators
The council later confirmed that the meeting has now been postponed to Sunday.
“Our meeting that was moved from 1pm to 3pm has now been moved officially to tomorrow,” it said.
Santaco announced earlier this month a scheduled taxi fare increase, come 1 July.
Spokesperson Thabisho Molelekwa said the organisation was aware of the looming annual increase in July and advised organisations in various provinces to direct reasonable increments, which would not cripple the poor.
The council has been in deliberations with Mbalula to highlight many challenges faced by the sector as a result of the pandemic.
It has presented four issues to be considered by Mbalula, which are to review the 70% loading capacity, address the relief fund issue, review regulation on long-distance travel, and government employing a different approach to taxis as the lockdown levels continue to be eased.
Last week, taxi operators in Gauteng decided to embark on a shutdown in protest against the government’s relief package for the taxi industry.
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was deployed in order to alleviate traffic and manage the situation.
Meanwhile, the National Taxi Alliance (NTA) has pleaded with financial institutions to accept its proposals for an altered repayment structure for the next few months to avoid the repossession of minibus taxis.
NTA spokesperson Theo Malele on Wednesday said they are negotiating with banks to grant taxi operators staggered incremental installments.
Malele said they are proposing a 50% payment for the first month, 65% for the following month, 75% for the third month and 100% the fourth month.
“We believe that this arrangement will provide a feasible recovery plan for both the financial institutions and the taxi industry,” said Malele.
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