Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has appealed to minibus taxi associations to reconsider their decision to load taxis at 100% capacity, flouting the South African government’s Covid-19 regulations as from Monday.
He also asked them to reconsider their decision and condemned their actions.
The South African National Taxi Association (Santaco) said all taxis in South Africa would load at 100% capacity from Monday.
Mbalula said after meeting the disgruntled industry last week, during running battles between law enforcement agencies and protesting taxi drivers, a meeting scheduled to provide feedback on Thursday could not take place as planned due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Mbalula said government had a responsibility to ensure that all measures in place as a response to Covid-19 were driven by the commitment to preserve human life and avoid an uncontrolled spread of the virus.
According to Santaco president Philip Taaibosch, taxis travelling long-distance routes would be allowed to continue travelling across South Africa without permits.
Taaibosch warned that if any taxis were stopped by law enforcement and impounded, all taxis across the country would park where they were and would not move until the impounded taxi was released.
- African News Agency (ANA)
