Don’t blame only taxi drivers

A lesson for the people: government rules, ok?

AND SO the old guard saw that they were wrong and handed power to the government of the people, and the people saw that it was good and rejoiced in their freedom, and the government was flushed with success and giddy with power.

And so it came to pass that the government cared nought for the people (for they governed like their peers in the north).

The people grumbled mightily and protested. “Clever” men called the government out but were rebuked and ridiculed, for the government were now haughty and arrogant and saw no fault in their governing, for they had learnt governing by default from their friends in the north.

They heard not the cry of the people and sought not the counsel of clever people.

But the people (some of them) still saw that the government was good, for they together saw enemies in the oppressors, and sought them out to blame for the deaf ears of the government

And so the government continued in its ways, and the king saw no fault in his ways for he ruled by the book of liberation.

Naysayers were rebuked and called agents, and followers were raised on high and rewarded, and learnt the haughty and arrogant ways of the king. They were untouchable in the kingdom, and the people wept. To be continued… ROLAND FISHER

Durban AFTER the horror crash in KwaZulu-Natal, where a driver of an overloaded taxi lost control and plunged down an embankment, our hearts go out to the grieving families.

Without any attempt at viciousness or callousness, we need to take stock of the tragedies taking place in our public transport industry.

A taxi certified to carry 17 passengers was boarded by 26 independently thinking and responsible people. It is easy to lay the blame on the driver, but 10 passengers as well as the driver broke the law that day and tempted fate.

Every day we see taxis flouting the law and coming close to killing passengers and other road-users. Sitting in those taxis are 16 or more passengers all hanging on for dear life.

Red traffic lights are run, pedestrians are narrowly missed and passengers are dropped off in dangerous places or on red lines where a safe place to pull over is only metres away.

The ratio of passengers to driver negates the argument that they are scared of repercussions from the driver. If the community blacklisted and refused to travel with drivers that endanger their lives, then this would come to an abrupt end.

We need to educate communities to stop treating these incidents as accidents and evaluate them as murders. Maybe we should look at ourselves as passengers and our responsibilities instead. ALAN MARTHEZÉ

Parklands