The Eastern Cape government says it has injected R1.7-million to help taxi industry bosses douse fires in violence-prone areas in the province.
The funds will also be used by industry bosses to travel to areas affected by tensions such as Mthatha, where there have been a number of deaths recently.
The cash injection follows a taxi strike that almost brought the province to a standstill two weeks ago.
Taxi operators took the the streets, blocking traffic flow in some towns while others marched to Bhisho to hand over a memorandum to premier Phumulo Masualle.
The bone of contention is the provincial government’s slow pace in issuing operating permits for taxis, resulting in some getting impounded.
Yesterday, spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said the government had agreed to release permits to qualifying taxi operators across the province.
But Santaco provincial chairwoman Noluntu Mahashe would not be drawn into commenting on claims that the grant has been deposited, saying the same claims were made in April but the funds were never transferred.
The Daily Dispatch understands that a meeting to craft a master plan on how permits would be issued was set for East London yesterday but was later postponed to today.
Kupelo said the provincial government’s intervention in the taxi industry, led by the office of the premier, had already yielded results.
Masualle has appointed a team of officials from his office, the provincial treasury and two representatives from the taxi industry to look at resolving the urgent matters affecting operations of the industry.
“To date, we can report progress on the two areas that were raised as grave concerns during the premier’s meetings with taxi bosses.
“Government has already transferred the grant that is to be used in the facilitation of a transformative and regulative policy of the taxi industry in the province,” Kupelo said.
He said the process of permit applications was already under way, with Alfred Nzo being the first district to be visited for this purpose.
The plan entails issuing:
- 442 applications in Alfred Nzo on June 20-21;
- 1060 applications in OR Tambo on June 22-23;
- 145 applications in Joe Gqabi on June 24;
- 643 applications in Sarah Baartman on June 27-28;
- 434 applications in Amathole on June 29-30; and
- 550 applications in Chris Hani on July 1.
Kupelo said there were 796 applications in total from the Amathole district.
He said the grant was processed last week and likely to appear in Santaco’s bank account this week.
Transport provincial spokesman Ncedo Kumbaca confirmed this, saying the government had delivered on its promises.
Mahashe said she was still waiting for a confirmation from the head of transport department Irene Mpolweni on permits.
“In our discussions with the premier’s office everything is positive.
“The head of transport needs to write to officials to inform them that permits need to be issued without conditions, but I still get calls that clearances are still demanded from operators,” Mahashe said.
Last week, Mahashe lambasted ANC Women’s League provincial chairwoman Bukiwe Fanta for saying the taxi industry should not pre-empt the outcome of Masualle’s intervention and their call for transport MEC Weziwe Tikana’s removal.
Mahashe said they were not a political party and that the ANC had not assisted the industry since the dawn of democracy. — msindisif@dispatch.co.za
EC to issue taxi permits, boost peace with R1.7m
The funds will also be used by industry bosses to travel to areas affected by tensions such as Mthatha, where there have been a number of deaths recently.
The cash injection follows a taxi strike that almost brought the province to a standstill two weeks ago.
Taxi operators took the the streets, blocking traffic flow in some towns while others marched to Bhisho to hand over a memorandum to premier Phumulo Masualle.
The bone of contention is the provincial government’s slow pace in issuing operating permits for taxis, resulting in some getting impounded.
Yesterday, spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said the government had agreed to release permits to qualifying taxi operators across the province.
But Santaco provincial chairwoman Noluntu Mahashe would not be drawn into commenting on claims that the grant has been deposited, saying the same claims were made in April but the funds were never transferred.
The Daily Dispatch understands that a meeting to craft a master plan on how permits would be issued was set for East London yesterday but was later postponed to today.
Kupelo said the provincial government’s intervention in the taxi industry, led by the office of the premier, had already yielded results.
Masualle has appointed a team of officials from his office, the provincial treasury and two representatives from the taxi industry to look at resolving the urgent matters affecting operations of the industry.
“To date, we can report progress on the two areas that were raised as grave concerns during the premier’s meetings with taxi bosses.
“Government has already transferred the grant that is to be used in the facilitation of a transformative and regulative policy of the taxi industry in the province,” Kupelo said.
He said the process of permit applications was already under way, with Alfred Nzo being the first district to be visited for this purpose.
The plan entails issuing:
Kupelo said there were 796 applications in total from the Amathole district.
He said the grant was processed last week and likely to appear in Santaco’s bank account this week.
Transport provincial spokesman Ncedo Kumbaca confirmed this, saying the government had delivered on its promises.
Mahashe said she was still waiting for a confirmation from the head of transport department Irene Mpolweni on permits.
“In our discussions with the premier’s office everything is positive.
“The head of transport needs to write to officials to inform them that permits need to be issued without conditions, but I still get calls that clearances are still demanded from operators,” Mahashe said.
Last week, Mahashe lambasted ANC Women’s League provincial chairwoman Bukiwe Fanta for saying the taxi industry should not pre-empt the outcome of Masualle’s intervention and their call for transport MEC Weziwe Tikana’s removal.
Mahashe said they were not a political party and that the ANC had not assisted the industry since the dawn of democracy. — msindisif@dispatch.co.za
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos