Cape Town’s Deadly Taxi Strike Ends After Santaco, Western Cape Govt and Metro Come to Tenuous Agreement

• After eight days of chaos, the deadly and violent Santoco taxi strike in the City of Cape Town has come to an end
• Santaco, the metro and the Western Cape government came to an agreement after tense and lengthy deliberations on Thursday evening, 10 August
• From statements released by the taxi council and Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, it seems all parties walked away from the negotiating table with something they wanted

CAPE TOWN - It is back to business as usual in the City of Cape Town after the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) called off the taxi strike, which thrust the metro into eight days of chaos.

After lengthy deliberations, the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape government and the taxi council came to a tenuous agreement to suspend the stay away that left tens and thousands of commuters stranded, caused millions in property damage and claimed the lives of five innocent people.

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Santaco reveals condition of strike suspension

Santaco Western Cape released a statement revealing that part of the resolution included an agreement that taxis that the city would release all wrongfully impounded taxis within the next 14 days.

The council also conveyed condolences to the families of the people killed during the week-long stay way.

Cape Town mayor gives overview on other conditions

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis also provided a rough overview of the other requirements of the agreement, with the Democratic Alliance posted online.

In addition, to agreeing that lawful impoundment un the National Land Transportation Act (NLTA) would continue, the parties agreed that the metro’s Taxi Task Team would define a list of additional offences that could lead to the impoundment of vehicles.

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The parties also agreed that Santaco would never again call for a strike in the middle of a workday and would instead give at least 36 hours notice before any planned strike action.

Mzansi rejoices as taxi strike ends

Below are some comments:

@0000ayanda asked:

"At some point as a nation, we need to sit down and have a serious talk. How long is this industry gonna basically hold us hostage lmao?"

@nwaby_90 celebrated:

"Thank god! Life can finally go back to normal..."

@apho_madikane questioned:

"What happens in the 14 days if they actually find the number of wrongfully impounded cars is not as much as they thought?"

@Luvuyoabraham said:

"Sense has finally prevailed in the city they finally decided to release all illegally impounded vehicles unconditionally good news."

Tragic death of British doctor killed during Cape Town protests causes outrage: “How sad and traumatic”

In a related story, Briefly News reported that the violent taxi protests in Cape Town have claimed the life of a 40-year-old British doctor.

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Kar Hao Teoh was killed in the presence of his wife, Sara, and two-year-old son, Hugo, after taking a wrong turn trying to leave the Cape Town International Airport on Thursday, 3 August.

According to Daily Mail, the respected top orthopaedic was vacationing in the city when he was caught in the protests.

Source: Briefly News