Talks with financiers to help taxi operators
The National Taxi Association (NTA), the country’s secondlargest taxi association, said it is speaking to financial institutions to allow taxi operators to pay less on their instalments over three months as the industry continues to suffer the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The NTA is negotiating for operators to pay 50% of their instalments in July, 65% in August, 75% in September and then revert to 100%.
“We believe that this arrangement will provide a feasible recovery plan for both the taxi industry and the financial institutions,” said NTA national spokesperson Theo Malele.
“We have taken this initiative with a greater understanding that the devastating effects of the Covid-19 to both the economy and social life in our country cannot be blamed on government, corporate[s] or the taxi industry for that matter.”
Transport minister Fikile Mbalula has said he has engaged taxi financier SA Taxi Finance to put a moratorium in place on vehicle repossessions and also to extend their initial one-month repayment holiday by a further two months.
“This is part of the broader interventions we have made in support of the industry, which include providing personal protective equipment. While our plans to host a national taxi indaba were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, we remain committed to placing on the table a long-term taxi industry empowerment model for discussion with all stakeholders,” Mbalula said.
“This model will outline the tangible economic support government intends to provide to the industry, and the critical trade-offs that have to be made both by government and industry to ensure its successful implementation.”
On Monday, about 45,000 members of the SA National Taxi Council abandoned their vehicles and embarked on a one-day strike, intimidated fellow motorists and blocked highways, leaving commuters and workers across Gauteng stranded, to protest the conditions attached to the R1.14bn Covid-19 relief fund for the taxi industry.
The conditions included that taxi operations must be formally registered as a business entity and be registered for income tax and other applicable taxes.