Western Cape taxi associations sign peace treaty after bloodshed

Man stands next to a minibus taxi.

Western Cape Transport and Public Works MEC Daylin Mitchell says a peace treaty has been signed by rival taxi associations in Cape Town. Picture: WCG

Published Jul 9, 2021

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Cape Town - After an emergency meeting was convened earlier this week, the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata) and the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta) have signed a peace agreement.

This comes after eight taxi operators were gunned down in separate incidents across the Cape metropole earlier this week.

On Thursday, Western Cape MEC for Transport and Public Works Daylin Mitchell held an urgent meeting with the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco), Cata, Codeta and senior government officials to address the taxi violence and disruptions that have been plaguing the province.

On Wednesday, seven people were killed in separate incidents, bringing the total number of taxi-related murders in the province to 72 since the start of the year in addition to 33 attempted murders.

The violence stemmed from conflict between the rival taxi “mother bodies”, Cata and Codeta.

On Thursday, commuters across Cape Town were left in the lurch and had to make use of alternative transport or ended up walking as no taxis were available.

However, Mitchell said that as from Friday, taxi operations will be fully functional as agreed by the parties in the meeting.

He said this also included a signed pledge of peace by Cata and Codeta as public acknowledgement of their commitment to peaceful engagements.

The “mother bodies” also committed to revert to finding options to resolve the issues pertaining to the routes in Paarl in the interim as they await the arbitration outcome that is under way.

Mitchell said there was an immediate ceasefire and stop on all forms of violence and destabilisation agreement from both Cata and Codeta.

The meeting also saw government placing administrative and regulatory sanctions into effect until peace and stability have been ensured, while the City of Cape Town’s Special Regulatory Programme has been placed on hold.

“While we want to restore peace and calm, we will not compromise on the rule of law and the safety of commuters,” Mitchell added.

African News Agency (ANA)