Cape Town Taxi Strike: Small Businesses Struggle As Violence Continues

Cape Town has been struggling since taxi drivers went on strike, negatively impacting small business owners. The weekend witnessed violence, including the torching of vehicles and the killing of a law enforcement officer.

A meeting between the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) and the Western Cape Government on Sunday failed to resolve the ongoing taxi strike, which meant the protests will continue till Wednesday.

"It is with great disappointment that we must announce that the talks between the government and the Santaco leadership, which took place in an attempt to resolve the cause for the taxi stay away, was suspended," Santaco's leadership said, News24 reported.

Santaco's statement further noted they are "open to talk with the government to find a speedy resolution to this issue and we call on all our operators not to interfere with other modes of transport and not take part in any criminal activities."

Some of the negotiating points included official use of the red and yellow emergency lanes during rush hour and a termination of certain conditions regarding operating licenses.

Ahead of Sunday's meeting, City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Roberto Quintas and Western Cape MEC of Mobility, Ricardo Mackenzie met Santaco's leadership on Friday.

The strike, which started on Aug. 3, has directly affected small businesses like Cape Town's Amaqubelo Bakery, whose owner Thembile Ngqwala said, "I had scones and muffins ready for my clients, but they couldn't reach me as cars were being stoned and torched, making it impossible for me to deliver the orders. I was left with R5,000 worth of unsold stock," All Africa reported.

The bakery owner said that he tried to sell all his items at a 50% discount to avoid throwing away the food. However, eventually, he had to give away some of the items for free.

"I have to think of my staff; giving everything away costs me a lot," he added. "We also sell at the taxi rank, but we couldn't do that because the taxis are not operating."

Amaqobelo Bakery isn't the only business that has been negatively impacted. The owner of KwaMgoli fast food and restaurant in Khayelitsha named Loyiso Basso shared how he faced losses after more than 20 customers from outside their area placed orders, but couldn't come in to collect them.

"It's disheartening that we are suffering, and there seems to be no assistance available for the losses we are enduring. We are left to fend for ourselves," he said. "We understand the frustrations of the taxi owners, but we appeal to them to reach an agreement so that things can get back to normal."