A group of community members from Knysna in the Western Cape say they will not let taxi operators intimidate commuters. This, as the SANTACO strike enters its second week. The residents have accused taxi operators of stopping private vehicles and forcing passengers out, preventing them from going to work.
For the last week, scores of Hornlee residents have gotten up at the crack of dawn, to accompany commuters to wait for transport to work, to ensure their safety.
The ongoing strike has resulted in a tense standoff between taxi operators and community members. In a statement, SANTACO said it won’t stop people from going to work. But some residents say the taxi operators have been doing just that. They come out in their numbers to escort residents through entrance and exit points.
“Our taxi drivers and associates have resorted to stopping cars in our community and pulling people out of their private vehicles to restrict us from having more than one passenger in our private vehicles. We decided this is unacceptable and we will not tolerate this anymore. We came out in our numbers on Monday and Tuesday morning at 5 to try and prevent them from any criminal activity,” says Lynn Kayster, community activist.
Police in the region have confirmed several incidents of public violence and malicious damage to property in connection with the taxi strike. They say all incidents are under investigation.
Meanwhile, Knysna’s Mayor and Deputy Mayor met with the local taxi association to try and reach a compromise. However, the community was angered after they urged them to not use private vehicles as taxis to try and get to work.
“Those people that still want to go to work, people must go to work freely and there will be no disruptions between the workers and the taxi operators. However, I want to appeal to those people who want to use their private vehicles as taxis, people must not do that as it is not allowed,” says Aubrey Tsengwa, Knysna Mayor.
The Mayor has still not responded to requests to clarify his statements. Residents have now met with their local taxi association who have assured them that they will not restrict any private vehicles.
No end in sight to SANTACO strike:
