The management of the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) Western Cape provincial taxi council met with the Minister yesterday to discuss a range of issues. Mr Philip Taaibosch, National Secretary General of SANTACO was also present.
Minister Carlisle re-iterated the position of the council in regard to representation. “SANTACO Western Cape is the official and only representative of the minibus taxi industry in the province. It exists as a result of a specific national transport imperative that all taxi associations be represented by one body. The process to bring this about was both representative and democratic, and has at all times been supported by both Democratic Alliance (DA) and ANC administrations in the province.” He said.
Carlisle expressed disappointment that many Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (CATA) and Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (CODETA) associations seldom, if ever, attended council meetings and undertakings. He requested both his officials and the members of the council to engage CATA and CODETA associations in a friendly and cooperative spirit in the greater interest of the industry. He urged all associations to support the council and actively engage in its democratic elections.
In a very useful meeting, many important issues were considered, particularly, the need to further empower the industry and its members. Carlisle committed the department to this objective, taking into account the current budgetary difficulties facing his department. He stated that “any solution for public transport must also be a solution for the minibus taxi industry, and must strive to ensure the continued livelihoods of its registered associations, their operating members and support staff.”
The council representatives pledged their support for the Safely Home campaign, and undertook to consult their members and seek to obtain further support. Safely Home campaign seeks to reduce road deaths in the province by half by 2014. The council advised that the provincial elective conference would be held in February 2010, and called on all associations and regions that had not held their annual general meetings to set dates and send out the requisite notices.
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