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Mbalula condemns taxi industry’s decision to load at full capacity

  • On Sunday, the South African National Taxi Council and the National Taxi Alliance announced that they will be loading taxis at full capacity from Monday morning and resume inter-provincial operations.
  • Image Credits :
  • SABC News Bara Taxi Rank
Reading Time: 3 minutes
Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula says it is unfortunate and regrettable that the taxi industry has elected to violate the lockdown regulations. He was reacting to Sunday’s announcement by the  South African National Taxi Council and the National Taxi Alliance that they will be loading taxis at full capacity from Monday morning and resume inter-provincial operations.
He says government has a responsibility to ensure that all measures are in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Mbalula has appealed to the industry’s leadership to reconsider their decision.
In the video below, Transport Minister appeals to taxi industry to reconsider decision: 
The minister’s spokesperson, Ayanda Allie Paine, says the minister is awaiting a decision from the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) on the taxi industry.
“Well this latest move by Santaco is rather unfortunate, as the NCCC may well find in their favour and if it does not then and only then should the taxi industry raise their concerns further. This weekend’s planned meeting were a mere courtesy just to inform them that the NCCC has not yet taken a decision and will only pronounce on their matter next week.Unfortunately the meetings could not take place and that’s due to clashing commitments on the minister’s diary.”

In the video below, taxis at Bara Taxi Rank load taxis at 100% capacity: 
Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize warns taxi industry
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has warned that the taxi industry’s decision to violate lockdown regulations amounts to creating COVID-19 death traps.
Mkhize says he is disappointed by an industry wide decision to fill taxis to 100-percent capacity and reopen inter provincial travel from today.
South Africa has now recorded over 138 100 cumulative coronavirus infections most of which are in the Western Cape, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape. 2456 COVID-19 related deaths have been recorded.

Mkhize has advised taxi commuters to refrain from boarding overloaded taxis…

“I am very concerned because actually somewhere along the line South Africans need to understand that government is not just making rules we trying to save the nation from rapidly increasing infection it’s actually very unfortunate because to think now as the numbers are increasing, wait for another two to three weeks you are going to see the increase, the impact of the filling up of the taxis.”

 

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