Court order curbs ‘taxi mafia’
|Published
TOE THE LINE: Taxis operators.
Codeta said they have no other choice but to accept a decision by the Western Cape High Court to end their scholar transport blockade which has been affecting thousands of learners over the past month.
February saw sectors of the taxi industry embark in protest action which resulted in the blockade of scholar transport in Mfuleni and Khayelitsha.
Codeta was demanding that the Western Cape Education Department hand over all scholar transport contracts to them.
This resulted in more than 13 000 learners being absent from school.
Education MEC David Maynier turned to the high court for an urgent interdict against Codeta to stop the blockade as well as to stop it from intimidating and harassing drivers.
On Wednesday, the high court ruled in favour of the WCED and granted the interdict.
Codeta was also ordered to pay costs.
Any continuation of the blockade represents a direct contravention of a court order, and could result in a criminal offence.
“The court has sent a strong message to the minibus taxi mafia,” Maynier said.
He said all contractors had returned to work and the number of learners absent dropped to 120 on Thursday.
Maynier urged police to ensure that the interdict is enforced to avoid any further disruptions.
Codeta spokesperson Andile Khanyi said: “We were just fighting for our rights. We had a negotiation with the department, but it collapsed because they never ever came back to us...that’s why we took the action.
“So we accept the decision of the court, there’s nothing we can do about that.”
Advocate Ranjan Jaga, for the WCED, told GroundUp: “You can only transport children in the Western Cape when your vehicle specifically meets the requirements – for example, the education department needs proof of the qualification of the people driving, proof of defensive driving and medical kit.”