Santaco Taxi shutdown for Gauteng on Monday
The South Africa National Taxi Council (Santaco) in Gauteng says it will embark on a shutdown on Monday.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula announced the relief for the sector to the tune of R1-billion.
But Taxi associations say the amount is insufficient and that government must find more money.
Minibus taxi owners aren’t happy with the conditions attached to accessing the funds, such as registering with Sars and opening a business bank account.
Taxi owners had asked for a minimum of R20000 each but government is offering one quarter of the expected minimum amount. Government wants the taxi industry formalized and subsidized.
Mbalula revealed that taxi bosses told him they are not happy with government’s offer.
“I know that amount of money is not enough but were we are heading to is long term of subsidization and formalization of the industry.”
Top 6 Taxi associations say they will shut down from Monday
He warned against any planned shutdown by the industry.
“Shutdowns will not work. It will be detrimental to the industry itself and its survival. But equally, we would be misunderstanding the whole situation we are in, which is fighting COVID-19. And the taxi industry has come to the party in a big way. And we appreciate that.”
Santaco says R1.1-billion in relief is not enough.
It’s still unclear if the shortfall will be passed on to commuters, through drastic price hikes.