Cape Town Crisis: ACC Demands Independent Mediator

The Alliance of Citizens for Change says that the ongoing standoff and subsequent eruption of violent clashes between the Taxi operators under the leadership of SANTACO and the City of Cape Town Municipality is a serious cause for concern. An independent mediator must be appointed to help ameliorate further tensions and prevent job losses and casualties.

Whilst the A.C.C. understands the ongoing frustration of the Taxi operators pertaining the biased and unfair treatment by the City of Cape Town for many years, a solution should not be to respond with violence. Equally, the conduct of the Metro Police and Traffic Officers needs to be thoroughly investigated in-order to avoid the repeat of what we saw through various media platforms of assault of Taxi drivers by people who should uphold the Rule of Law and not break it.

Since the announcement by SANTACO that they will down tools until the 9th of August there have been numerous reports of violent attacks on private, business and government vehicles which has led to passengers sustaining serious injuries and various businesses unable to operate. Children in the most vulnerable and poor communities have been unable to go to school, and workers unable to travel to work. Emergency vehicles cannot access the poor communities, social services like SASSA have been shutdown, clinics and hospitals had to be closed in majority of the poor communities where they are needed most. This is hurtful and totally unacceptable.

The latest statement by the Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, effectively ceasing negotiations is entirely irresponsible and unfair to the residents of Cape Town. Now is not the time to be headstrong. This is not how negotiations work unfortunately. To have successful negotiations, one has to be prepared to listen to the other side and work together to find a lasting solution to the conflict.

The economy is in dire strain, businesses have lost so much more, jobs are at stake and people feel the impact at a very personal level. This is something that need leaders who do not take themselves too serious but put the interest of the people first above their own. We need cool heads and solution driven approach on both sides for this crisis to end. We must never resort to violence when there is disagreement, instead we must use a pen and the paper and be prepared to sit around the table as leaders and use dialogue as the only measure for a sustained solution. The City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government, together with SANTACO need to find an urgent and objective intervention to help provide leadership as best as possible in order to be effective in the long term and find a sustainable resolution of the stalemate.