Durban - Three vehicles were set alight when taxi drivers shut down the Pietermaritzburg CBD over traffic fines on Thursday.
Police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said the protest started at about 6am when taxi drivers blockaded the roads.
They overturned bins and set the rubbish alight. Protesters also damaged shopfronts and toppled vendors’ tables as they went on a rampage through the CBD.
One of the vehicles torched belonged to the provincial Department of Health and the incident was condemned by Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo.
“The protesting taxi drivers blocked access to and from Edendale Hospital - resulting in some patients having to be sent home. While patients struggled to get to the hospital, some operations had to be cancelled as doctors could not get to work on time.”
Among the grievances listed in a memorandum to the Msunduzi Municipality was the scrapping of traffic fines, a call for “affordable” traffic fines, not to be stopped between 5am and 8am and for police not to hide in order to trap them.
They also demanded taxi stops along the city’s main Langalibalele (Longmarket) Street, for taxi ranks to be cleaned and for traffic police to arrive on time to direct traffic in congested areas outside Edendale Hospital.
Sfiso Shangase, provincial office manager for the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco), said while the organisation was not involved in the protest action as representatives of the industry, they had decided to intervene. “The drivers also requested that some of the traffic tickets be made out to the owners and not them. All of this is in their memorandum, which the municipality agreed to respond to in seven days,” said Shangase.
He said they condemned the violence and disruption, especially to commuters who were forceably removed from taxis whose drivers were not participating in the protest.
“We cannot close roads, destroy and impact the public and the commuters who ultimately bear the brunt of our actions when we have a problem,” said Shangase.
Msunduzi spokesperson, Thobeka Mafumbatha said they would respond to the memorandum through Santaco. She apologised to the public affected by the protest action, saying they were working with police and the municipality security to ensure the situation is contained.
Shangase said Santaco was expecting taxi operations to return to normal on Friday.