The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) in the Western Cape says that it has instructed its members not to engage in violent behaviour during the ongoing six-day stayaway.
It says that it had no choice but to declare the strike, which is expected to continue until Wednesday next week in protest against the impounding of their taxis by the City of Cape Town.
Santaco’s Western Cape First Deputy Chairperson, Nceba Enge says they expect the city to deal with drivers that are not adhering to the law, but not impound taxis.
“Fines should be issued in that case, and it is the responsibility of the driver to wear a safety belt and that has got nothing to do with the impoundment of the van. The City of Cape Town and the government should deal with the driver directly – not taking the taxi.”
“I think we didn’t have any other choice. Because our taxis are not operating, so we don’t expect any form of violence, and we’ve issued a statement clearly to our operators and our drivers that we don’t want to see any form of violence taking place,” adds Enge.
The video below is reporting more on the story:
