Some Gauteng taxi drivers on Tuesday said that they had to ferry commuters without making a profit for several weeks during the national lockdown, and it was now the government’s turn to make a sacrifice by adding more money to its R1.1 billion relief fund for their industry.
Drivers got back behind the wheel on Tuesday morning after Monday’s chaotic strike in the province by the South African National Taxi Association (Santaco) in Gauteng.
#TaxiShutdown the Bara Taxi Rank is back to normal this morning. Taxi drivers say they are back at work not because they accept government’s offer but because they understand the importance of the service they offer to South Africans. KM pic.twitter.com/hEHnZ309gl
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) June 23, 2020
Taxi operators are demanding R20,000 per vehicle in the form of relief, but the government is offering R5,000 per taxi.
Taxi drivers at the Bara taxi rank in Diepkloof, Soweto, returned to work in order to serve South Africans who needed to be at work on Tuesday, and not because they had reached an agreement with the government.
One driver said they had been selfless during the lockdown by agreeing to ferry commuters for a fraction of what they usually made.
“I was expecting that the government would agree to our demands as they had also asked us to adhere to the lockdown regulations,” he said.
He said he was hoping that the government would hear their grievances as they had also tried to abide by lockdown regulations and ferry loads of up to 10 passengers.
Another driver said: “It doesn’t mean that we have accepted the government’s relief funds, but we are back at work this morning because our customers need to get back to work and school. We are thinking about their needs.”
Drivers said they would be following the government’s talks with Santaco on Wednesday closely with the hope that the Transport Department would budge.
-EWN
In other news – Actress Masasa Mbangeni has bad news, reveals there is a popular Actor who has died
Television actress Masasa Mbangeni, is reeling in shock following the death of a fellow actor. The actress took to Twitter to call on actors, to invest in their mental health, because suicide is real!
It is no secret that the industry has been rocked by numerous suicidal and heart-wrenching depression incidents. Although Masasa did not emotion the actor who has passed away, but Masasa said it is scary that too many actors are dying of suicide. continue reading
