Factory carpools bullied by taxis – Mandeni

Carpooling Isithebe factory workers are regularly intimidated by armed taxi operators who impose illegal ‘fines’ on them for not traveling via taxi.

A 62-year-old Stanger man, who works in the industrial park just outside Mandeni, said the carpool he travelled in was stopped last week by the main Mandeni robots, less than 200 metres from a police station.

He said the men who stopped them were taxi security and demanded R500 from the driver.

Carpooling is a legal and cost-saving way of commuting to and from work, yet for years, motorists have been intimidated by taxis who accuse them of stealing their income.

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“We are a group of workers and we each take a turn to drive to and from work.

“Last Thursday, the driver of our carpool was asked to step out by a muscular man who was carrying an assault rifle.

“There were about 10 other men like him on the road who were pulling over other cars. He demanded that the driver pay him R500 but he only had R200 in cash so he gave that to him. When we told the taxi operator that we ran a carpool, he said that it was not allowed and we needed to start taking taxis instead. We are very shaken up.”

The victim who has worked in Isithebe for years, and asked to remain anonymous out of fear, said a similar incident took place in February where their work shuttle was pulled over.

“We have a vehicle that is only used to transport factory workers who live in places that are hard to travel from using public transport. They stopped us, pulled the driver out of the vehicle and demanded R3000. The passengers, who are barely able to make ends meet had to fork out the cash.”

The man said he was hesitant to report the latest incident to the police as he feared action would not be taken and instead, the victim would become a target.

However, Steve Fox from Mandeni Business Against Crime said he was aware of the incident and that the police were taking the matter seriously.

He had heard about four recent incidents of intimidation but that there were different taxi associations operating in the area, making the culprits difficult to pinpoint.

“I believe that the station commander from Sundumbili SAPS met with one of the taxi managers on Monday.

“Similar incidents take place every year around Christmas.

“This is usually to make up for the loss in taxi fare from workers who are on break. These incidents took place over three police station areas and while we have had SAPS patrolling the hot spots, they cannot cover the entire route.”

South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) regional chairperson Bongani Mkhwanazi said he was not aware of the incidents but promised to investigate.

Victims are asked to report any cases of intimidation to their nearest SAPS head office.

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