Mali noted multiple concerns mounting in the Gauteng Taxi Industry (GTI) following the MEC's unilateral decision to dismiss hundreds of uncollected operating licences on 14 August.
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Representatives from the Gauteng Taxi Industry (GTI), the Gauteng National Taxi Alliance (GNTA) and the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) have raised concerns over the roads and transport MEC’s conduct and alleged failure to respect recognised leadership structures.
Despite commending the Gauteng government for the great strides made in regulating, formalising and modernising the taxi industry, leaders from Santaco Gauteng and the GNTA have provided reasons behind the current dispute with the Gauteng MEC for roads and transport, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela.
Cause of the dispute
Santaco chairperson Midday Mali said the working relationship with the MEC had been permanently broken after she decided to engage directly with individual taxi associations and members.
This comes after the MEC announced that taxi operators have until 14 August to collect their licences before they become void.
Mali emphasised that the structures of the taxi industry are constitutionally mandated to represent the collective interests of affiliated associations and members.
Taxi governance concerns
“Such actions undermine the governance of the taxi industry, create division amongst associations and weaken organisational discipline,” he noted.
“While bypassing the duly elected regional and provincial leadership structures, and thereby flagrantly breaking long-established protocols, observed by successive MECs in the past,” Mali emphasised.
Mali noted the concerns compounding the Gauteng Taxi Industry (GTI), following the one-sided decision made by the MEC.
Piled-up operating licenses
“Further compounding the Gauteng Taxi Industry’s concerns is the unilateral decision by the MEC not to allow taxi operators to collect operating licenses from their localities in the regions where they applied from,” Mali noted
He said that instead, the MEC piles up issued operating licenses, waiting for her to independently set a date and venue for a ceremonial handover.
“This happens at enormous costs to our members who must travel from region to region to collect their issued operating licenses,” Mali added.
Taxi operators unable to collect
Members acknowledged that many operators were unable to collect their operating licences because of the distances and related costs, adding that a lack of effective communication with provincial leadership remained problematic.
“Despite these administrative shortcomings, the department has proceeded with actions that place operators at risk of losing their operating licences through no fault of their own,” noted Mali.
He noted that the industry believes that it is both unfair and unreasonable to penalise operators for failures within the department’s own administrative processes.
Requests for improvement
Members reiterated that the GTI remained committed to working with government to improve public transport; however, they said the relationship must be based on mutual respect, consultation and adherence to established governance protocols between the taxi industry and government.
Mali requested that provincial offices, regions, and associations be properly informed before operators are called to collect their operating licences.
He said the taxi industry had consistently requested that sufficient notice be provided to operators and that no operating licence should be cancelled where an operator was denied a fair opportunity to collect their licence at the Transport Operating Licensing Administrative Body (TOLAB) where they applied.
Collaboration to resolve issues
Both organisations emphasised that the department is obliged to work with recognised taxi industry leadership to resolve the Operating Licence Administration System (OLAS) backlog and related administrative challenges.
They added that the industry was concerned that decisions affecting thousands of operators were being made without meaningful consultation, unfairly shifting the burden onto taxi operators.
Members called on the MEC to suspend any cancellations or adverse action relating to operating licences arising from the OLAS collection process, which they described as flawed, and to restore a relationship founded on consultation, transparency and mutual respect between government and the taxi industry.
Potential protest in seven days
Following what it described as multiple failed attempts to engage with the taxi industry, the GTI warned that an organised protest march could take place within seven days of the briefing if its concerns continued to be ignored. The march would involve the delivery of a memorandum of grievances to Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi.
“We reiterate our invitation to the Premier to intervene and facilitate a meeting between the leadership of the industry and MEC Kedibone Diale- Tlabela, where we have no doubt in our minds that the minds would meet and a lasting solution would be found for the benefit of the commuting public and our members,” Malele noted.
The organisations concluded that the objective was not confrontation, but to protect the rights of taxi operators, uphold organisational governance and ensure a stable and efficient public transport system for Gauteng residents.
The Citizen has reached out to the MEC of roads and transport for commentary on the dispute; this article will be updated accordingly once the comment is received.
