‘Taxi strike shows reality of apartheid spatial planning’

The chairperson and convenor of the Cape Metro Development Forum, Ndithini Tyhido says they are disappointed that negotiations between the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) and relevant role-players have not yielded positive results.

The relevant parties met in Cape Town on Wednesday.

An interfaith prayer service in response to the on-going taxi strike in the Western Cape was held at St George’s Cathedral in the CBD.

At least five people have been killed in suspected taxi-strike related incidents since last Thursday.

Tyhido says the situation is worrying.

“What we have seen in the last few [days] says it’s the reality of the apartheid spatial planning. All other Cape Town residents who are in the thirteen kilometre radius outside the CBD were not as affected as the people in Khayelitsha who could not go and buy bread. Of course now it’s supplied, so when we talk about these things we are not playing politics.”

Meanwhile, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has welcomed Santaco’s decision to apply for an urgent court interdict to stop the City of Cape Town from impounding its members’ vehicles and release the impounded ones.

He says the move will clarify the confusion in the implementation of laws under which the vehicles are impounded.

However, Winde says he is disappointed that the strike is continuing.

On Wednesday night, Santaco said it would continue the strike for at least another 48 hours.

Santaco strike continues indefinitely