The costs of Cape Town’s taxi strike

The cost of last week’s taxi strike is being counted.

Damage to buses, other vehicles, and infrastructure would take time to replace or repair.

For two Cape Town businesses, the injury of a respected colleague and the loss of income, was a difficult blow.

Last week taxi operators and drivers took to the street in protest over their vehicles being impounded, permits, and other taxi-related issues.

They marched to the Western Cape Legislature where they handed over a memorandum of grievances.

The taxi operators and drivers occupied a lane on one of the Cape’s main arteries into the city centre. While thousands of motorists sat in heavy traffic, some private and business vehicles, taxis not affiliated to CATA and Codeta were targeted.

They were stoned, smashed, and torched.

Three Golden Arrow buses were set alight in Nyanga and Kraaifontein leaving four commuters were injured.

Bongani Mtutu, a Khayelitsha resident, was struck by a petrol bomb on a bus.

Cape Town businessman Anton Kleye said Mtutu was on his way to Epping when he was hit by the weapons as it came flying through the window on Borchards Quarry.

“It landed on top of him both his hands got severely injured and the side of his face”.

The 48-year-old husband of two is receiving treatment for at least another week.

Innocent Denhere owner of Skyline Building Services said one of his drivers was stopped by a taxi in Kraaifontein. They instructed him to get out of the truck and hand over the keys.

“He knew what was now going on he just told decided he didn’t want to argue with them. They just took the truck and drove off at a very high speed”.

They then found the vehicle in flames not too far from where it was hijacked.

Denhere added that he had a contract with a hardware transporting building materials. But now with the truck being out of commission, he and three other men are out of work, unable to make money to support their families.

-EWN

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