The anatomy of a deadly Cape taxi conflict — or when regulatory failings, violence and blame-shifting collide

That’s the backdrop to the flare-up of deadly violence over the Mbekweni, Paarl, and Bellville, Cape Town B97 route between the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta) and Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata). 

But the tensions have been simmering for about three years — and ripple into other Boland communities such as Ceres and Wellington, but also Somerset West in the Strand. 

Route B97 has now been closed for two months — the stick to get Cata and Codeta to cease hostilities. The carrot is a series of interventions that unfolded over the past 10 days or so. 

Crucially, both Cata and Codeta say they are committed to a ceasefire. As both point fingers at officialdom’s bias and regulatory ineffectiveness — each with their own spin — they’ve proposed so-called route compromises to settle differences. 

Cata proposed letting go of all but one of the 27 routes in the Paarl-Cape Town area — that Mbekweni-Paarl-Bellville route. Or share everything 50:50. Codeta proposed only its taxis would load in Paarl, while Cata would get exclusive rights such as at the Bellville rank. 

That emerged in the peace accord treaty seen by Daily Maverick that came out of a series of meetings called by United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader Bantu Holomisa and Saftu General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi. 

“We did our job... We have written to the minister. We are ready to meet,” said Holomisa on Wednesday. 

The taxi peace deal facilitated by the UDM and Saftu succeeded more, as far as it could be ascertained, than official interventions. A failed mediation by consultants engaged by the Western Cape government was followed by formal arbitration set to end by Thursday. Other meetings included a civil society gathering on Friday, 23 July that involved the development forums of Gugulethu, Nyanga and Phillipi, the SA Human Rights Commission, the provincial Community Safety Department and SAPS. 

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula told Daily Maverick to “reach a sustainable solution and ensure the rule of law supersedes all”, he’d been working closely with his Western Cape counterpart. 

“We have agreed that drivers of the conflict include issues relating to allocation of routes and issuing of operating licences… To this end, we are considering declaring a moratorium on the issuing of new operating licences and working with municipalities in updating their Integrated Transport Plans (ITPs).” 

While this latest flare-up of taxi violence has focused attention on the Mbekweni-Paarl-Cape Town route, it’s not really about that B97 route. 

It’s about a hands-off regulatory official attitude — and the commercialisation of the Western Cape taxi industry, styled as formalisation and empowerment. 

Central to this are the Blue and Red Dot subsidy-linked projects. The Blue Dot was aimed to improve safety and quality. The Red Dot taxis provide healthcare workers’ safe transport in the Covid-19 pandemic, through Umanyano, a company formed by the Western Cape branch of the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco). 

The Western Cape government has expanded this, with each of the eight Santaco provincial regions establishing their own commercial companies for further pilot projects “to develop their capacity and ensure that they become viable businesses”, as Western Cape Transport MEC Daylin Mitchell put it in emailed replies to questions on the taxi industry. 

These eight commercial taxi companies and related projects, according to Mitchell, “will improve the Western Cape Government’s ability to regulate effectively”. 

But for many, this is tantamount to deregulation, and breaking down public services for the public good. 

Crucially, by allowing the establishment of minibus taxi companies that would fall under the Companies Act, the government is effectively allowing them to regulate themselves, while performing a public service, with little to no disclosure over their sustainability, ownership and state of finances. 

As with the City’s MYCiTi bus service, taxi associations and individuals are set to position themselves for gain in this round of public transport commercialisation. 

This is dangerous ground amid unresolved issues that include regulatory authorities’ claimed bias and inefficiency, and criminal elements in the taxi industry. Also unresolved remain underlying tensions between associations over routes, operating licences and floor-crossing, or taking operating licences along when joining another association. Operating licences, issued per vehicle, are the lifeblood of the taxi industry. 

Both Cata and Codeta claim that even though they are two of Santaco’s eight regions they are so-called mother bodies that can also organise and affiliate other region’s taxi associations and operating licenses. 

It’s an organisational issue that has dragged on since Santaco was formed, and was part of a 2017 Western Cape High Court judgment on Santaco provincial and national constitutions, elective meetings and so on. It’s understood that the mother body issue is part of a planned, but as yet unscheduled Santaco policy conference. 

The current B97 conflict underscores most, if not all these issues. The killing of 29 people underscores the human cost. 

Between April 2020 and the end of March 2021, Western Cape police recorded 121 taxi-related murders, alongside 69 attempted murders. 

The SAPS has arrested 94 suspects over the past 18 months, including 18 for taxi-related murders, 32 for attempted murder and others for counts including illegal possession of firearms, intimidation, hijacking and perjury. 

“The number of taxi-related cases before courts is fluid… At a point in time during 2021, the figure was just over 50. The cases range from intimidation, perjury, illegal possession of firearms to kidnapping, hijacking, attempted murder and murder,” according to Western Cape SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa. 

The closure of the B97 route may have calmed the conflict — for now — but the underlying issues remain. 

To date, there are still just six operator licences on this B97 Mbekweni-Paarl-Bellville route that is understood to have space for 19 operator licences. 

What the B97 taxi conflict shows is that it’s high time to resolve the underlying issues — from regulatory laxity and buck-passing to the role of criminal elements in the taxi industry, where accountability is much needed.