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They delivered their memorandum at Union Buildings, which also called for an inclusive, nonpartisan taxi.
Taxi operators paralyzed Pretoria on November 18, 2020 when they embarked on a protest across the city. The operators first marched to the Department of Transportation before heading to the Union Buildings, where they delivered a memorandum of demands to the Deputy Minister of the Presidency, Thembi Siweya. Drivers and owners are demanding that Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula pay them the COVID-19 relief funds they were promised. Image: Xanderleigh Dookey Makhaza / EWN
PRETORIA – The National Taxi Alliance (NTA) gave Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula 14 days on Wednesday to clarify when the funds allocated to COVID-19 relief for the taxi industry will be released.
Thousands of taxi operators affiliated with the alliance arrived in Pretoria today to protest against delays in the disbursement of promised funds, leaving commuters in various areas of Gauteng in the lurch.
They delivered their memo to Union Buildings, which also called for an inclusive, nonpartisan taxi.
Road slowdowns, abandoned taxi ranks and sporadic acts of violence were among the scenes seen in Gauteng on Wednesday.
Earlier this year, Mbalula announced a 1.3 billion rand aid package for the taxi industry to cushion the effects of the lockdown.
But the NTA secretary general, Alpheus Mlalazi, said they had not received a penny.
“Not a single operator or driver has received a penny from the allocated fund.”
Mlalazi also criticized the national taxi lekgotla, which was held recently in Johannesburg, saying that the meeting was simply a ploy to give South Africa’s National Taxi Council power over them.
Taxis and bus services were suspended for the day.
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