Laphum'ilanga Transport Services has accused the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality of dividing the metro's taxi industry.
Several associations that make up the Laphum'ilanga Cooperative addressed the media on Wednesday, claiming to have been left out of the process in 2016 when the Metro signed a Memorandum of Agreement with two taxi associations.
Laphum'ilanga CEO, Gregory Rockman, said the two associations had signed the agreement without consulting them as the mandated body of the metro's taxi industry.
The two associations, Northern Areas Taxi Operators Association and Algoa Taxi Association, concluded an agreement with the Municipality last December to launch the first IPTS route in Cleary Park.
"The initial meeting held by Laphum’ilanga directors and the new NMBM leadership was positive, thereafter they have declined to meet with Laphum’ilanga as the mandated body of the MBTI in NMBM," Rockman said.
"The current actions of the NMBM show no respect for the mandated structures of the MBTI. The MBTI leadership remain committed to building a good working relationship with the NMBM. We look forward to a positive intervention by the National and Provincial government, however we are keeping all options open and cannot discount the options of legal and industrial action," he said.
Rockman said that Laphum'ilanga Transport Services had written "to the National Department of Transport, National Treasury and the Premier of the Eastern Cape requesting their urgent intervention into the IPTS project in the NMBM."
"Further to this we have written to the City Manager of the NMBM requesting urgent intervention to stop the IPTS office from applying a divide and rule strategy, an old apartheid strategy; creating mistrust and tension amongst taxi operators; sign now and input later approach re MOA; ignoring previous agreements between MBTI and NMBM; spreading of incorrect information; weakening the MBTI by breaking up the unity in the taxi industry critical for peace in the industry; not processing the payment of historical creditors, not paying service providers approved by NMBM; not processing the budget of Laphum’ilanga despite undertakings by the NMBM to pay it, not providing copies of so called signed documents (MOA) and no input allowed," Rockman said.
But, the DA-led coalition administration hit back, with Roads and Transport Porfolio Councillor, Rano Kasyer, saying he had records to show that Lapum'ilanga was present at a meeting in October 2016 where no less than ten associations were given a presentation on the final draft of the Memorandum of Agreement.
"It is really unfortunate that Lapum'ilanga is claiming no consultation. I have it on record how many times the authorities interacted with the taxi industry, which includes Lapum'ilanga. I must say that on the 28th of October 2016, executive members of the 10 associations, with the regional structure of the taxi associations, with Lapum'ilanga, met with the authorities, were a presentation was made on the final draft of the Memorandum of Agreement."
"We then gave each association time to go back to their structures, consult, get mandates or power of attorney to sign, come back to the authorities. In addition to that the authority to an extent assisted with some logistical arrangements to ensure that they are meeting as a collective. So it is really strange to say that there was no consultation," said Kayser.
"I don't think (that) with the calibre of leadership in the taxi association (that) they will sign a document that they don't know what the content is about. So, we are quite convinced as an administration (that) we did sufficient consultation will all relevant stakeholders."
"I don't think the authority is dividing the industry. All the authority is doing is aligning itself with Section 1(a) of the National Lands and Transport Act, which dictates that (a) contracting authority may sign contract agreements with the operators. The operators are then further defined as associations. In the past, the previous regime directly signed and entered into agreements with secondary vehicles instead of aligning themselves with the provisions of the legislation which says that "we must enter into agreements with the primary operators."
Kayser said that given the calibre of leadership in the taxi industry, he doubts they would have signed agreements that they don't understand.
