War over routes

There are occasional lulls in the fighting, but the taxi factions in the Western Cape seem unable to reach a permanent ceasefire.

In the past two weeks there has been a spate of violent deaths and injuries as a result of attacks as the ongoing battle between the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata) and the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta) escalates once again, this time over the coveted Bellville-Kraaifontein route.

At least three drivers have been killed, and many more people, including two children, have been injured. Last Thursday, Cata also blockaded major arteries in and around Kraaifontein, and on Friday, following more protest action which blocked access to the busy Brackenfell area, police impounded 30 Cata vehicles and arrested 25 drivers.

Drivers and commuters alike now say they fear for their lives, but are in a difficult position: for the drivers there are few alternative jobs, while commuters have no alternative transport.

As mourners bury the dead, mud-slinging and finger-pointing have replaced any possible negotiation. The main points of contention are the irregular issuing of permits, alleged government bias against one group, fear and incompetence on the part of the police when it comes to law enforcement, and a culture of Mafia-style violence that undermines any agreements between the two bodies.

Stephen Williams, chairperson of Cata, says: ‘I blame both Codeta and the government. Codeta had Khayelitsha but then their eyes got bigger and bigger and now, recently, they want Belville-Kraaifontein too.”

But, Codeta chairperson Sydney Ncathe says the main issue is that Cata does not want any affiliates of Codeta to operate in Kraaifontein, even though they have the permits to do so on certain routes within that area.

‘Those limited routes were given to us for the sake of peace,” he says.

As roads are the market place for taxi operators, the tension reaches boiling point when both sides believe themselves to be in possession of the legal documentation required to hustle for passengers on those roads.

And this, according to Junaid Peters, head of the Western Cape Taxi Council, is at the heart of the problem. ‘Permits were issued on other associations’ routes, which is totally irregular, but the government doesn’t want to withdraw them so they think they have the legal right to operate there. Ultimately government is to blame because it will obviously lead to conflict if they allow rivals to operate on the same route.”

The situation has been exacerbated by the temporary closure of the Operators Licensing Board (OLB), which issues the permits. Owing to a major backlog, they did not accept any more applications between January and April.

‘Unfortunately,” says Williams, ‘some of our members’ permits expired, but the OLB was closed for a few months so they couldn’t get renewals. But our members are registered for that particular route.”

Contacted by the Mail & Guardian, the OLB failed to provide detailed comment, but said there had been no irregularities on their side and they were therefore not to be blamed in any way for the ongoing rivalry.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the killings, protests and arrests, the political landscape of the Western Cape is adding its own dynamic to the conflict.

Cata has claimed that the ANC is biased towards Codeta, that the police are deliberately taking sides and that many of its members are threatening to defect to the DA.

‘Most Codeta members are also ANC members, but most of us are losing faith even in the UDM and PAC and we are going to join the DA because the others aren’t helping us,” Williams said.

He also accused Western Cape Transport Minister Marius Fransman and the officials in his department of being more lenient to Codeta members than Cata members.

But Fransman’s spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, has denied these allegations, saying the department of transport and public works has been working with all those involved in the taxi industry through its engagement with the Western Cape Taxi Council — a democratically elected structure representing all taxi associations in the province.

‘We have not at any given time taken sides with any taxi association in the province,” he reiterates.

Ncathe also denies any direct links between the ANC and Codeta, saying he is a member of the ANC but that ‘the ANC is not taking sides”.

‘I don’t mix politics with violence,” he says, ‘we have to discuss the violence and leave the politics out. The UDM, PAC or DA can come around and call us in to fix the problem — we are not only with the ANC.”

But Cata is now planning mass action as it withdraws from any discussion of a negotiated settlement.

‘We are going to march and toyi-toyi because we don’t want to be victimised by the police any longer,” says Williams.

Ncathe says the police must ‘lock up whoever is causing the violence”. He claims that Cata members randomly shoot Codeta members and have threatened to kill him.

‘This is in front of the police but they don’t do anything,” he adds. ‘If it is members of Codeta or Cata, they must arrest the perpetrators. The community is getting caught in the crossfire.”

Peters claims that negotiations are carried out and that solutions are found, but that not enough is being done to enforce new arrangements.

‘All plans fail at the point of implementation,” he says, ‘this lack of law enforcement and the police not acting is why the war has been escalating once again. Even the perpetrators names are forwarded to the police but they haven’t even been called in.”

Makhaya Mani, spokesperson for Western Cape Community Safety Minister Leonard Ramatlakane, has said the role of the police is not to negotiate with the taxi drivers but to enforce the law.

‘The associations have got the problem and are behind the violence, but they won’t admit it,” he said, ‘every-one comes on board to find a solution and the routes are divided up through negotiation, but every time, they go out of the meetings, into the street, and start shooting one another.

‘Our request was this: ‘Please expose the killers because you know who they are.’ But they never come forward. In a recent taxi inquiry, everyone who came forward to give evidence alluded to the fact that the people who cause and who could end the violence are the taxi operators themselves.”

What does the future hold?

• Codeta: ‘We have reached the point where the soldiers of South Africa need to step in. The police are afraid of the perpetrators, but we need them to act and if they can’t manage, they must bring in the soldiers.”
• Cata: ‘We need the government to stand up and say, ‘Codeta, you are wrong.’”
• Western Cape Taxi Council: ‘This problem will only be solved when the government withdraws any permits that were given out irregularly. Until then, there will be war because operators will claim the route is theirs alone.”
• Minister for community safety: ‘We are heading for 2010 and the public transport infrastructure is going to play a major role. The taxi industry should play their role too, but it is riddled with violence and tension. It’s a massive problem — they could still be locked in their gun battles.”
• Transport minister: ‘The Dispute Resolution Unit — an independent body — was formed to assist in dealing with disputes that arise within the taxi industry. This unit has been working hard to try to resolve the situation that exists in the taxi industry at present in the province.”