Minibus taxi drivers and owners to meet officials in jam over fines

We feel government is after innocent people, yet they fail to fight gang violence Isaac Goliat

Taxi driver organiser

MINIBUS taxi owners and drivers have been summoned to a long-awaited meeting tomorrow by the provincial Department of Transport and Public Works to discuss the issue of traffic fines.

The meeting follows on the drivers’ #FinesMustFall campaign last year, which requested that their traffic fines be scrapped, and after an urgent email was sent to Transport MEC Donald Grant, asking that: old traffic fines be scrapped; issued fines decreased; traffic officers stop focusing on taxi drivers on the roads; and that the province issue permits where necessary so “that they can work freely like all other workers”.

Grant’s spokesperson Siphesihle Dube said their office was aware of tomorrow’s meeting, scheduled with taxi drivers and owners.

An organiser of the taxi drivers, Isaac Goliat, said they pleaded with the province to hear their demands.

“We do not want to go on strike in order to be heard,” Goliat said.

He added that they were given unnecessary fines by traffic officers and their vehicles were impounded almost daily.

“We as drivers feel like government is after innocent people, yet they fail to fight gang violence that is killing people in the province,” he said.

An email sent to the organisers by the office manager of the chief director of transport regulation, Moegamat Amien Anderson, requested that the drivers also consult with their “respective employers”.

Anderson said: “I confirm your acknowledgement that you and the other aggrieved drivers have duly consulted with your respective employers. While we are glad to hear that you have consulted with your employers, we shall include your respective employers in our communication with you in order to ensure they remain part of the process.”

In concluding his mail, Anderson proposed that the drivers’ “respective employers” also attend the meeting to ensure openness and transparency.

Last year, the drivers said they were tired of being harassed by traffic officers, saying: “Traffic fines are too high; we can’t afford to pay them. We do not even have a minimum wage.”

In their email, the minibus taxi drivers said that they were treated like criminals, while trying to make “an honest living”.

Taxi task team organiser Siyamcela Lali said traffic officers made minibus taxi drivers their ATMs.