43 min ago
Taxi strike | JP Smith says 'pressure is on SAPS' to keep public order
CAPE TOWN - The City of Cape Town has previously defended the impounding of minibus taxis, saying it's appropriate because of the behaviour of taxi operators is appalling and there seems to be an attempt to increase violence.
Cape Town's Safety and Security MMC, JP Smith, says over a hundred cases of public violence have been opened.
He said, "it is worrying for us and I think the pressure is on for the SAPS to bring ensure that they bring adequate public order policing to the scenario."
"Our staff has been working flat out, we are doing hundreds of escorts of buses so that the public transport operations can run."
"The buses were running at about 95-percent. There some areas where we are forced to keep the buses on the outskirts of an area, which means an unreasonable obligation on commuters to have to walk quite a distance but we are trying to make sure people can get around."
"But [there are] definite signs of stress as shops have closed early in anticipation of problems."
"It's important now that this court order is enforced and that the investigation - there's more than 100 cases of public violence and otherwise that has been opened with SAPS."
WC Santaco's Nceba Enge responded to reported violence by taxi operators saying, "we want to state that negotiations between Santaco, the minister of mobility in the WC and the national minister are in progress."
"We also want to distance ourselves as Santaco in the riot that is taking place in our communities... We are not part of that, we hope that the City of Cape Town together with the provincial department of Transport, the National Department, and Santaco will reach an agreement."
But taxi council, Santaco, is distancing itself from the violence.