Santaco, the Western Cape Government and the City have reached common ground after the taxi strike. File picture: Armand Hough / African News Agency (ANA)
Cape Town - A month after the Santaco strike which brought the province to its knees and claimed the lives of five people, Task Team negotiations have finally came to an end.
In a joint statement, the minibus industry, the Western Cape Government and City of Cape Town said they would move forward to implementations after reaching an agreement.
They are now set to sit for another month to discuss the way forward with their implementations.
Outcomes of the negotiations were not made public.
“The City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Government and Santaco Western Cape, spent the month of September working through the outstanding points of disagreement regarding enforcement measurements for the minibus taxi industry,” they said in the statement.
“All parties are satisfied that we have honoured our mutual commitment to safe, reliable, and affordable transport for commuters.
“This demonstrates the possibilities for finding common ground when we meet around a table for constructive discussion.
“The ‘implementation period’ will run until November 30, during which time the Provincial Regulatory Entity will conduct a review of its operating licence conditions, and the work of the Task Team will continue.”
During September, Santaco sought an interdict application to stop impoundments which were dismissed by the Cape High Court.
The court papers also raised the issue of officials using discretion with offences such as operating without a licence, without a PDP/ driver’s licence or driving a vehicle which is unroadworthy.
During the Task Team negotiations, they also discussed the way forward on what are deemed minor or major offences which could see impoundments of vehicles, and to see vehicles being released under the guidance of the National Prosecuting Authority.
Santaco previously revealed they had suffered a loss of R15 million a day and R120m for their eight-day strike.
The strike saw the deaths of five people, including Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (Leap) officer Zanikhaya Kwinana, British citizen Dr Karhao Teoh, Arthur Mlandeli, Makhosandile Joseph Mkhela and one other person whose name has not been released.
The City had been using the national legislation to impound taxis, which required all public transport operators to have a valid operating licence or permit and that a taxi could be impounded when they did not have an operating licence or permit.
It is understood that 46 operating licences conditions were reviewed, which ranged from no smoking inside the vehicles, to having a valid first aid kit and a fire extinguisher.