Pretoria – The Tshwane taxi industry, which has a major stake in Tshwane Rapid Transit (TRT), is embroiled in a public spat with mayor Solly Msimanga amid allegations that the city wants to take over the business.
The taxi industry was incorporated into A Re Yeng to take charge of the operation of buses three years ago.
Its chairperson and TRT spokesperson Abner Tsebe said Msimanga invited consultants from Cape Town to advise him on having alternative ways to run the bus rapid transit system.
He said this raised suspicions that the city wanted to take over the bus operation.
“While we appreciate the executive mayor’s prerogative to seek solutions for what he deems a problem, we are not happy to sit by and let him go over our heads in finding alternative ways of running a system that has been operating efficiently since it was established almost three years ago,” he said.
Msimanga’s spokesperson Sam Mgobozi said it was not true that the mayor had invited consultants from Cape Town to come up with alternative plans for the service.
He said: “The city will from time to time look at best practice from other DA-led municipalities in the country.”
The taxi organisation took issue with Msimanga over his previous public remarks that the money was wasted on the system.
Tsebe said it was reckless and damaging on the A Re Yeng service.
Tsebe challenged Msimanga to explain what he meant by saying money was getting wasted on the system.
“I don’t know why he had made such a statement to the media, but if the statement is correct maybe it is because he thinks that money had gone to the wrong guys,” he said.
Tsebe accused the mayor of wanting to compare the capital to Cape Town.
“In Cape Town the city owns the buses and in Tshwane they are run by us. Some of the operators in Cape Town are buying back their taxis because they are unhappy with the way things are done,” he said.
Tsebe said the taxi industry was frustrated and disappointed at the treatment it had been receiving from the city transport authorities and Msimanga since he assumed office last year.
“We are treated as if we belong to a political party. We are not saying that he must give us preference, we are only requesting a meeting with him; even if he could meet us once in four months,” he said.
The organisation wanted a meeting with Msimanga. Failure to heed their call could result in a full-blown strike.
Tsebe said: “If things are not going accordingly we are going to go on a full-blown strike.”
Mgobozi said the city was in the process of reviewing the TRT contract because of an exorbitant amount of money spent on it, but with little returns.
“That is why we are reviewing the contract to check whether or not we are getting value for money. We are doing our diligence to make sure we are getting value for money,” he said.