Premier Alan Winde on special Western Cape Cabinet meeting on ongoing mini-bus taxi strike

7 August 2023

Premier Alan Winde chaired a special provincial Cabinet meeting this morning to report back on the various engagements and interventions that have been under way since the beginning of the mini-bus taxi strike in the Western Cape. The stay-away is being led by the South African National Taxi Council in the Western Cape (SANTACO-WC). Despite urgent negotiations since last Thursday, there is unfortunately still no resolution. Cabinet will continue to meet daily.

“I am angry that as a result of the strike, residents have been unable to get home to their families or to work, school, shops, clinics and other critical sites. Many government services, including health and social development, are having to close facilities and are unable to provide desperately needed services to our communities. Our schooling system is also being affected. This is not acceptable,” the Premier stated.

“We welcome SANTACO’s condemnation of the levels of violence associated with the strike. However, we remain deeply concerned by the violence, loss of life and destruction of property that has been associated with the strike. SANTACO’s leadership must ensure that the violence associated with the strike ends immediately. We also note and support the interdict granted by the Western Cape High Court to Golden Arrow Bus Services (GABS) against SANTACO and its affiliates. The Western Cape Government is also pursuing legal action, along with the City of Cape Town, to interdict the violence”.

The Premier continued, “The ongoing violence is making it very difficult for negotiations to proceed. We are a government that stands for the rule of law. A withdrawal of services is an important Constitutional right, but violence, intimidation and destruction of property are not. This is non-negotiable. We want to bring all stakeholders back to the negotiations, but this has to be in an environment of calm. We must also not allow this issue to be politicised as this will only further complicate matters.”

The safety of residents and road users is of paramount importance. All law enforcement agencies have been mobilised since the strike was called. The maximum number of personnel and resources have been deployed to respond to acts of violence and protect what services are able to be offered amid the industrial action.

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Premier Alan Winde expresses concern at impact of taxi strike on Western Cape Government services

Premier Alan Winde and Western Cape government (WCG) remain gravely concerned at the devastating impact caused by the strike called by the South African National Taxi Council in the Western Cape (SANTACO-WC). “I am appalled at the scale of violence that has not only dealt a severe blow to our economy and critical services but has also delegitimised and damaged SANTACO-WC’s cause. This violence and damage to property has continued this morning. I will be holding a special Cabinet meeting this morning with key leadership from the City of Cape Town to assess what further steps need to be taken and the impact on services,” he said. The Premier has again called for taxi leaders affiliated with the council to intensify all efforts to de-escalate the violence and urgently find a resolution to the dispute. He added, “All sides, more especially residents and commuters, are being harmed by this stay away. We must find common ground now.” emphasised Premier Winde.

Western Cape Minister of Mobility Ricardo Mackenzie continued, “After ongoing urgent engagements throughout the weekend, we are extremely concerned that the strike continues. The withdrawal of mini-bus taxi services since Thursday has had a devastating impact. As the provincial government we are working extremely hard to resolve ongoing issues in the industry and establish new terms of engagement that will ensure the safety of commuters and road-users.”

Impact on critical services

The impact on provincial government and municipal services has been profound.

Education:

As a result of the strike, 287 420 learners have not been able to attend school across the province since the sudden stay-away was called. More than 9 000 teachers and staff were also prevented from going to work. The Western Cape Education Department’s #BackOnTrack programme has also been affected. This past Saturday’s classes had to cancelled. This impacted 14 000 learners.

Health and Wellness:

The strike and associated violence severely affected health services. The impact the safety and availability of transport has on our staff will be reviewed today to determine the effect it has on our service provision.

Many healthcare facilities have been forced to operate at reduced capacity:

Tygerberg, Red Cross and Groote Schuur Hospital

elective surgeries were postponed.

only emergency surgeries are being conducted.

outpatients are advised to only attend their appointments if it is safe to do so.

Community Health Centres and Clinics

Services at all facilities are available, but with limited capacity.

Emergency Medical Services

Access to red zone areas are possible with a law enforcement escort, resulting in possible delayed response.

Forensic Pathology Services

Tygerberg and Salt River forensic pathology services are operational, but response to scenes will be delayed in red zones as this will also only occur under the protection of law enforcement escort.

Social Development:

Many Western Cape Department of Social Development staff will have to work from home, due to the volatility of the situation. The department will also have to temporarily close its offices in the following areas:

Gugulethu

Langa

Mitchells Plain

Nyanga

Delft

Khayelitsha

Philipi satellite

Atlantis

Elsies River

The Premier said, “This situation is untenable and unacceptable. Our residents cannot be forced to endure this lawlessness. All parties must return to negotiations.”

Minister for Police Oversight and Community Safety, Reagen Allen has condemned the burning and damage to all property, particularly safety related resources. Contingency plans have been adopted to ensure that the burning of the law enforcement vehicles in Delft will have no operational impact on the deployment of Law Enforcement Advancement (LEAP) Officers in the area. LEAP is fully operational and part of interventions where required across the Cape Town in particular. Red zoned areas remain volatile. All law enforcement agencies are deployed across these communities and at strategic points.

Minister Mackenzie elaborated on how his department has been working flat out to end the strike and see minibus taxi services return to the roads, “Alongside the City of Cape Town, we put forward a proposal on Friday to alleviate the impact of impoundments on taxi operators, while we resolve the complex challenges around operating licenses and other issues. Unfortunately, SANTACO-WC’s additional demands are not legally implementable and would require longer-term engagements with national government and other role players. At this point, we are left with very few options if SANTACO-WC will not return to the table and resume the joint work of our Minibus Taxi Task Team.”

Issued by Regan Thaw, Media Liaison Officer, Office of the Premier, 7 August 2023