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Cape Town taxi strike another example of government allowing lawlessness to thrive
Undoubtedly, it would be a brave administration to take on the taxi bosses.
A vehicle that was set on fire in Ntlangano Road, Nyanga on Day 5 of the minibus taxi strike on 7 August 2023 in Cape Town. Picture: Gallo Images/Die Burger/Jaco Marais
Many will applaud the City of Cape Town’s poking of the hornet’s nest by impounding what they claim are taxis which are on the road illegally, without the required permits, or which have been breaking the road traffic laws.
Quite why the city decided to do this on such a large scale and why now are questions best answered by themselves.
In the urban area with by far the biggest murder rate in the country – and one of the highest in the world – one would venture to suggest there might be other policing priorities.
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While MMC for safety JP Smith is correct in his assertion that taxis have been impounded under the National Land Transportation Act – giving the lie to Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga’s claims that they were not – the municipality muddied the waters itself by introducing a bylaw that enables it to impound motor vehicles for serious offences.
While it has taken “civilian” cars off the road, the city’s clear target is taxis, with more than 6 000 of them having been seized.
But, in effectively supporting the taxi strike and its associated violence, our government – through Chikunga and Police Minister Bheki Cele – are effectively saying that taxi commuters, the majority of whom are black, are not entitled to basic safety precautions.
Some better life for all, that is… However, what is really disturbing is that the clash of wills – which has already left people dead and injured, property destroyed and businesses ruined – is yet another example of where our government has allowed lawlessness to thrive.
Undoubtedly, it would be a brave administration to take on the taxi bosses, who are, like the zama zamas, a law unto themselves.
However, when one group gets away with putting itself beyond the law, others will follow. And anarchy will prevail.
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