Joint media statement by the Minister of Transport and Santaco on the outcome of the meeting held at the Department of Transport on the 7th of July 2017 on the developments in the taxi industry
2nd Deputy President of SANTACO – Mr Boy Zondi
Secretary General - Mr Vernon Billet
Deputy Secretary General - Mr Robert Lentsoane
Treasurer – Mr Thomas Masase
Acting Director General – Mr Mathabatha Mokonyama
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen
I greet you all and welcome you to a joint media briefing by the Department of Transport and the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) following the fruitful and progressive meeting held by the Department of Transport, led by myself as the Minister of Transport and the SANTACO delegation, led by the Deputy President of SANTACO, Mr Boy Zondi, on Friday, 07 July 2017.
The meeting was held as part of the commitment we made as government that we will meet with the transport industry role player including the taxi industry, the rail sector as well as the bus operators to discuss the transformation of this important economic industry, which is the cornerstone of economic development.
Upfront, we would like to indicate that we agreed with the industry to put on hold the planned strike on 12 July 2017, to allow for further engagement on issues that SANTACO brought to the attention of government. Both Government and SANTACO agreed to work together to confront challenges that the taxi industry continue to experience on a daily basis as clearly articulated in the meeting.
The meeting agreed to address issues relating to (1) the Taxi Subsidy (2) the Operating licences and (3) Access to finance.
In taking the discussions forward, the meeting agreed to establish committees to deal with these issues. T he committees will incorporate members from SANTACO as well as those from the National and Provincial spheres of government.
The National Household Travel Survey indicates that taxis are the most preferred mode of transport, accounting for over 68% of the daily commuting public. This means the taxi industry remains the most preferred mode of transport. It is therefore inevitable that the issue of the subsidy of the industry needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. We have noted the need to address backlogs at Provincial Regulatory Entities which deal with operating licenses.
On the Operating licenses, government has been able to provide legislative requirements of operating licences to ensure that taxi operations are confined to a specific area as opposed to the previous radius based operations.
Government together with the taxi industry and commuters conceptualised what today is known as the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme which is currently under review and will be presented to Cabinet this year.
As government we also note the frustration that taxi industry is experiencing with regard to access to finance. The taxi industry is charged exorbitant interest rates when buying new taxis. To this end, we are going to involve other government departments, including Treasury and its agencies to explore other possible funding mechanisms.
As government we are indeed upbeat that working together with the taxi industry we will make sure that we transform this industry into a modern, technology savvy and safe mode of public transport that will become a choice for the young and the old.
To this end, we will be convening Transformation Summits in various sectors of transport to explore further opportunities that will benefit the previously disadvantaged, particularly women, youth and people living with disabilities.
In conclusion, we therefore call upon the taxi industry to unite against violence and any form of anarchy and criminality in the taxi industry. We call upon the industry to take a stance and expose those few individuals inclined on derailing the country from a good course of providing an affordable, accessible, safe and sustainable taxi industry.
As government we are seeking partnership with the taxi industry as mass public transport carrier. Together let us join hands in the implementation of our recently approved National Road Safety Strategy and ensure that our roads are safe at all times. Government acting alone cannot adequately reduce fatalities and injuries on our roads. United we can fight the scourge of these atrocities.
I take this opportunity to thank the leadership of SANTACO and the taxi industry in general for continuously engaging with government when there are issues that need to be addressed. Together we can transform the face of the taxi industry to the better.
