Western Cape taxi strike extended for two more days despite Santaco’s 9 August end date

In a statement on Wednesday evening, the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) in the Western Cape said its lawyers would apply for an urgent interdict to stop the city and province from impounding any more taxis until the dispute was resolved. It called on taxi operators to withhold their services for another two days.

When Santaco launched its stayaway on 3 August, it said the strike would last for seven days, ending on Wednesday, 9 August.

Protesters block the entrance to Masiphumelele informal settlement in Cape Town with burning tyres and rocks on 8 August 2023. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)

“With this in mind, we appeal to all our members to be patient and allow us to complete this process. The application will be lodged within 48 hours and we will therefore not operate until this process is completed,” said the statement.

“We apologise for any inconvenience this might cause to our commuters and the public at large. We will keep you informed of any further developments.”

Read more in Daily Maverick: Western Cape taxi strike

Five people have been killed in incidents directly related to the strike, which has left hundreds of thousands of commuters stranded and devastated the province’s economy.

Santaco’s demands

A letter sent by Santaco’s Western Cape chairperson, Mandla Hermanus, to the City of Cape Town MEC for mobility, Ricardo Mackenzie, on Wednesday stated that the taxi strike would continue into Thursday, 10 August if no resolution was reached on the impasse.

The issue of taxis being impounded is central to the strike. Santaco believes taxis are being unfairly targeted under a City of Cape Town by-law that orders vehicles to be impounded for offences that previously resulted in only a fine.

In his letter, Hermanus stated that Santaco was not opposed to the lawful impoundments of vehicles based on the National Land Transport Act (NLTA), which provides for three instances in which vehicles may be impounded:

• If they are unroadworthy;


• If they are driven without a valid operating licence; and


• If they are driven by a driver without a valid licence and professional driving permit.

“Santaco is, however, opposed to the impoundment of vehicles for any other reasons, other than those related to the statutory provisions mentioned above and it has been seen on many occasions where our vehicles have been the target of these enforcement drives instituted by the City of Cape Town and the MMC for Safety, Alderman JP Smith,” Hermanus wrote.

His letter further states that Santaco has consistently called for a moratorium on all impoundments until Santaco, the Western Cape government and the City of Cape Town can resolve these issues and find common ground in the operations of law enforcement officers.

The bus station in Bellville, Cape Town was quiet with just one bus on Tuesday, 8 August 2023, day six of the taxi strike. (Photo: Shelley Christians)

“Santaco maintains its position to continue with the taxi stayaway until a moratorium has been instituted by the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government, pending the resolution of all outstanding matters at the Minibus Taxi Task Team,” Hermanus wrote.

Ongoing talks

Hermanus and Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis attended a prayer meeting at St George’s Cathedral on Wednesday where they were asked to find solutions.

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis was seen sharing a light moment on the sidelines with Santaco chairperson Mandla Hermanus. He says he was asking him about his new born and asked that he speaks to his members against the violence #TaxiStrike pic.twitter.com/iYbYY6X437

— Veve (@LudidiVelani) August 9, 2023

“In Cape Town, violence will never be tolerated as a negotiating tactic,” Hill-Lewis said.

“We reiterate our call on Santaco to return peacefully to the negotiation table. The city’s traffic by-law was recently amended to extend impoundments to private vehicles for a range of serious offences. All public vehicles continue to be dealt with under the NLTA as always,” he said.

Hill-Lewis said the provincial government had come close to reaching an agreement with Santaco, but the taxi association had then issued new demands. While he did not divulge these, Daily Maverick has established that they include allowing taxis to drive in emergency lanes and allowing drivers to use routes they don’t have permits for.

Daily Maverick asked the mayor whether he had issued a directive to Smith that for every vehicle, truck or bus that was torched, 25 taxis would be impounded.

“Any bus, any city vehicle that is torched or any road that is blocked by minibus taxis, we will impound all of those involved, that was my order,” the mayor said.

“[Smith] correctly reflects my instruction. Those [taxis] that were involved [should be impounded], that is the point I am making.”

Transport minister weighs in

On Tuesday, Transport Minister Sindiswe Chikunga said Cape Town’s new traffic by-law instructs officers to not only issue a fine for minor offences, but also to impound a vehicle, which she said was illegal.

The minister said the city should release all vehicles impounded under the by-law, but only the courts can reverse the municipality’s by-laws. Santaco has already filed papers in court and the matter will be heard in February 2024.

A burnt-out bus and HealthNet taxi on the N2 near Langa, Cape Town, on 3 August 2023. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)

Santaco’s first deputy chairperson in the Western Cape, Nceba Enge, told Daily Maverick on Wednesday morning that the taxi industry was being undermined by the municipality and that Santaco could not agree to end the strike while allowing the by-law to stand.

“That is where the impasse is,” Enge said.

“The City of Cape Town, together with the [provincial] Department of Transport are forcing us to sign a document where we will be binding ourselves with offences that are not impoundable in the national act.”

Smith, who is leading the city’s charge on the issue, has denied that the municipality had impounded vehicles under the new traffic by-law, saying taxis had been impounded only under the NLTA.

The city and the Western Cape government have offered to release vehicles from impoundment for minor infringements, but not those impounded for serious offences. The government wants to have more discussions on the issue of permits for new routes.

The government negotiators have also called on Santaco to return to the Minibus Taxi Task Team where discussions are held to find long-lasting solutions to the challenges.

The strike caused President Cyril Ramaphosa to change the venue of his planned keynote Women’s Day address on Wednesday. It was scheduled to take place in Khayelitsha, but Ramaphosa spoke from the Union Buildings in Pretoria. He said the strike was affecting the livelihoods of many people.  DM