Dust over Knysna taxi protests starts to settle
Over a month ago, the Knysna Taxi Forum (KTF), together with different parties and hundreds of community members, brought Knysna to a standstill during a march on 9 June.
Despite the fact that their grievances with the municipality, police station and court go as far back as 14 years, they managed to stage a peaceful protest backed by about 200 taxis and handed in their memorandums.
KTF secretary Mandla Tyololo said the different departments replied to the memorandums after the march within the requisite 14 days, but that they were not happy with the replies, “which is why we have requested a meeting with all three under one roof this coming Thursday 19 July”, he said.
Hope restored after minister’s visit
During a subsequent meeting on Wednesday 4 July, the forum met with the national deputy police minister Bongani Mkongi and Tyololo said this week that they left the meeting with a lot of hope. “He gave instruction to the acting station commander that they should deal with our grievances and that he will be back in two weeks to see if there are any changes.”
Some of the grievances with the police and state prosecutor include the withdrawal of cases without consulting complainants and the granting of bail to accused in serious cases without the knowledge of the complainants and family members concerned.
From Knysna Municipality they demand clean and safe public toilets, security at taxi ranks and the construction of pick-up and drop of zones, among others.
Muni ‘working with forum’
The municipality confirmed by mail this week that they would be meeting with KTF this Thursday and that they are committed to working closely with the forum and have regular meetings. They added, “We have resolved some of the issues raised by the forum, while others require more planning and further engagements with intergovernmental stakeholders.”
In the municipality’s reply, mayor Mark Willemse is quoted as saying, “We acknowledge and recognise the importance of the taxi industry, both as an integral part of Greater Knysna’s economy and as a critical role player in this town. The need to address the concerns of the taxi forum and ensure that the transport system functions optimally is essential to sustain economic and social activities in the town.”