Areas affected by ongoing taxi violence include Khayelitsha, Nyanga, Langa, Bellville, Wynberg, Vrygrond, Fish Hoek, Masiphumelele, Athlone and Mitchells Plain. Photo for illustration: Twitter/@CityofCT
Two Cape Town taxi rivals, the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata) and Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta), involved in ongoing violence have reached an agreement to an arbitration which is now underway, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said on Monday.
This follows weeks of extensive meetings between the associations, the Minister, and the MEC for transport, Daylin Mitchell.
“We have continued to engage both Cata and Codeta, as well as the Provincial leadership of SANTACO to find a sustainable long-term solution. With the initial collapse of the mediation process, the parties have since agreed to arbitration, which is now underway,” said Mbalula.
The ongoing taxi industry-related violence has left an estimated 82 people dead since January this year due to a dispute between the two taxi associations – the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata) and the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta) – who are fighting over control of a route between Paarl and Mbekweni.
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Members of the South African Police Services (Saps) and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) have since been deployed to Cape Town.
Major public transport routes in the city have also been affected by attacks on taxis.
Mbalula said that should there be any acts of violence in any of the routes operated by Cata and Codeta, the taxi associations will be suspended.
He warned that any association found to promote violence will equally be suspended while announcing that temporal measures will be implemented to help commuters travel during this period.