Government to meet with taxi industry

By Mandisi Tyulu
10 December 2008

Yesterday the City of Cape Town, still reeling under the violent demonstrations by taxi owners and drivers that brought the Central Business District to a standstill yesterday, will react to the industry’s demands within two weeks.

City Executive Director Mike Marsden received a memorandum of grievances from various taxi associations on behalf of Mayor Helen Zille. He undertook to deliver the document to Zille and assured demonstrators that they would receive a response within two weeks.

General spokesperson for the Taxi Association,Mandla Mata says one of their demands are that the Bus Rapid transport system must stop and that the authorities do not issue permit on time, we wait to long.

“Law enforcement is abusive to us as taxi drives and they are harassing us and that taxi capacity is being reduce by the new system from fifteen seats to thirteen seats,” says Mata.

Meanwhile, Mayoral Committee Member for Transport Elizabeth Thompson says that the City condemns, in the strongest terms, the violence, intimidation and unlawful acts perpetrated by certain individuals from the taxi industry during the demonstrations. She says CCTV and other video footage will be used as evidence for prosecutions.