Cape Town - A turf war over towing rights is escalating within the local tow truck sector as black-owned small businesses accuse “white monopolies” of “corporate violence” and stealing their trade.
Several black-owned companies belonging to the South African Repairer and Salvage Association (Saarsa) say the larger “white owned companies” have been strong-arming their way into some areas. They have threatened to fight back.
Saarsa, which represents small and medium tow truck businesses, claims “white monopolies” are buying out white companies to exclude black and coloured tow truckers from procurement opportunities in the insurance industry.
The fight for territory boiled over on Monday when a large group of tow truck drivers allegedly arrived at Dals Motor Group in Montague Gardens in their tow trucks and threatened staff, according to Dals director Elvin Nel.
Some men had been armed with guns and had slapped the manager in the workshop.
Nel said he felt his business was threatened. There was reportedly a similar attack on CK Coachworks in Retreat where a few tow trucks were damaged.
Police said they had no record of the Montague Gardens incident.
Saarsa chairman Len Smith denied the men who visited Dals were armed, while acknowledging that one or two men became aggressive.
“But no one was threatened,” Smith said. They had not used violence, but the white-owned companies were using “corporate violence”.
‘ENCROACHING ON TERRITORIES’
According to Smith, the row had recently escalated with the expansion of a company called Cape Road Assist, a new towing brand affiliated to Dals.
Smith said the rapid expansion of Cape Road Assist had seen the company “encroaching on territories”.
He said the towing industry had a salient rule that territories should be respected.
“And we are coming to claim our areas.”
He said they had been to Claremont and Constantia to deliver their message to “white-owned companies”, and that at some point the groups split up and “things got out of hand”.
Saarsa described its actions as “black and coloured tow truckers taking matters into their own hands after experiencing unprecedented levels of discrimination and victimisation over the colour of their skin, during the festive season”.
It added: “It used to be common practice that the first tow truck on the scene would be given the work, which benefited small black-owned towing operators who worked within their own neighbourhoods.”
But in the past few years more insurance companies had signed contracts with white-owned monopolies, giving them rights to tow cars anywhere in the city, it alleged.
“In practice this meant that even if an accident happened in a black or coloured neighbourhood, in front of a black or coloured tow trucker who lived in the area, they could not tow the vehicle.”
Nel admitted it was a competitive industry but said it was best business practice to sit down with insurance companies to discuss opportunities, while Smith’s tactics and ways of working were “ultimately the wrong way to go”.
Cape Argus