Nelson Mandela Bay mayor, Nqaba Bhanga, has written to the
president to ask that the SANDF be deployed to the metro to help local police
restore order with the ongoing protests.
Bhanga said that he convened a meeting between all taxi
industry stakeholders, including the Eastern Cape Transport Tertiary
Cooperative, Department of Labour and the Provincial Department of Transport in
the Feathermarket Hall, following the violent destruction of buses, private property
and municipal infrastructure since the commencement of the taxi strike on
Tuesday.
However, no resolution was agreed to by the parties.
“This meeting was part of the continuation of a number of
steps by my office to bring stakeholders together to resolve this crippling action
by the taxi industry. Although we are working extensively as the metro to see
this matter resolved for the benefit of our residents, the key stakeholders
that were engaged in this meeting are critical to resolve this impasse. The
dispute relates to issues between them, their dispute is therefore not with us
as the metro. A solution to the problem must therefore emanate from their
engagements,” Bhanga explained.
He mentioned that they have decided from the onset not to
stand on the sidelines and watch the taxi industry’s internal dispute spill
over and bring the local economy to a halt, disrupt the means of production and
impact the livelihoods of residents for reasons that could be resolved
peacefully.
According to Bhanga, one of the metro’s largest employers had
to halt production as their workers could not go to work. “This is especially
troublesome as we are finding ourselves in the midst of a pandemic and need a
buoyant economy so that we can get back on our feet again.”
“I have heard of patients and healthcare workers being
chased away from healthcare facilities by protestors, while patients were in
desperate need of medical attention. Schools are closed, hospitals are affected
and roads are closed. We cannot allow this lawlessness to continue and I
condemn these actions in the strongest terms,” he said.
“I have engaged the National Minister of Transport, the premier
and the provincial commissioner of the South African Police Services regarding
this untenable situation. They share our concerns regarding the drawn-out
deliberations and the impasse. Therefore, I have written to the president and
the premier and requested that the provisions of section 201 (2) (a) of the
Constitution be invoked and the SANDF be deployed to Nelson Mandela Bay, to
accompany and assist the SAPS in restoring law and order.”
Bhanga added that he had arranged a number of engagements
with communities today to explain the situation and attempt to bring calm. They
were scheduled to meet at the Nangoza Jebe Hall at 10:00 and at the Uitenhage
Town Hall at 12:00.
“During the course of the day I also hope to engage with the
business fraternity. The purpose of these engagements will be to discuss the
strike and its accompanying negative impact on our communities and to chart a
way forward.”
