WATCH | EC transport department crack down on taxis

The Eastern Cape transport department is continuing to keep a close eye on the roads after a “massive” number of  taxis from Cape Town tried to enter the province over the weekend.

Some taxi operators allegedly produced fake death certificates to comply with lockdown regulations. But their attempts were thwarted by transport officials, traffic cops, police and soldiers who were conducting roadblocks

On Monday, a video posted on Facebook by the department showed vehicles, mainly trucks, producing the required documentation on the N2 in Colchester,  outside Port Elizabeth. There were no long queues  of taxis trying to get into the Eastern Cape as videos and pictures widely circulated at a roadblock in Aberdeen over the weekend showed.

“We want to commend taxi operators (for obeying lockdown rules), we know how lucrative this route is for them but they have respected the lockdown regulations. We are urging them to hang in there. We are hoping that by the month end maybe the lockdown will be lifted and people will be able to move freely,” said provincial transport department spokesperson Unathi Binqose in the  video.

According to Binqose, transport MEC Weziwe Tikana-Gxothiwa was also at the roadblocks to ensure operations went smoothly.

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