Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned the ongoing violence resulting from a taxi strike in Cape Town.
The strike has led to clashes between the City and the taxi industry, causing business disruptions, injuries, and fatalities.
Addressing Women’s Day celebrations on Wednesday, Ramaphosa expressed concern over the situation which forced the government to move the event from Cape Town to Pretoria due to security concerns.
He called for dialogue between the municipality and the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) to find a peaceful solution and emphasised that violence would not resolve the crisis.
“As we celebrate Women’s Day here at the Union Buildings we are disturbed by the troubling events in the City of Cape Town. This year we were supposed to hold Women’s Day celebration in Khayelitsha in Cape Town, however, we had to move this event to the Union Buildings because of violence associated with the taxi strike in the city. While our democracy protects peaceful protests as well as lawful strike action, we cannot condone what has been happening in Cape Town.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has strongly condemned the Western Cape taxi strike. He has called for all parties to go back to the negotiating table and find a solution. #DStv403 #eNCA pic.twitter.com/WZFfoE9WNb
— eNCA (@eNCA) August 9, 2023
“We strongly condemn the violence and the destruction caused by this dispute. We are appalled by the killings and the assaults that have taken place because women have also been injured in all this,” said Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa said the rule of law must be upheld and that violence must not be allowed to continue.
This week, Minister of Transport, Sindi Chikunga, engaged in a public disagreement with city officials regarding the applicable laws for the impoundment of taxis.
Chikunga emphasised the importance of adhering to national laws and urged the city to return to negotiations to find a resolution.
“We have national laws in place that govern the infringements and penalties dealt with in the contested conditions of operating licences. The national laws are in place to ensure that fair rules are applicable to all citizens irrespective of the city or province they reside in. It can never be that a city will define itself outside the parameters of national laws and implement penalties that are out of sync with these laws.
“To this end, we call on the city to return to the negotiating table to address the areas of disagreement and demonstrate a genuine effort to find a lasting resolution to the current challenges,” the minister said.
But the city remains firm in its stance against releasing impounded taxis.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
