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File image: Commuters at a taxi rank.
KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has urged striking taxi associations in Durban to stop inconveniencing commuters and to rather take their grievances to the relevant department.
The Durban Long Distance Taxi Association has been striking since last week over the issuing of permits and the impounding of their vehicles by the Department of Transport.
On Tuesday, hundreds of taxis blockaded the N3 causing major traffic congestion.
Mkhwanazi says the disruptions are infringing on commuter’s rights to move freely.
He says, “Its not the entire taxi industry that’s on strike, Santaco (South African National Taxi Council) is not on strike, many associations are not on strike, but there’s one association that seems to be having issues and as a result they decided to go on strike. Them being on strike, what is expected is that perhaps they are not going to pick up passengers.”
Mkhwanazi says, “That means passengers are going to suffer, those that are supposed to be travelling on their roads. But either than that, they should not then interfere with other taxi people and other industries that are not participating on the strike by blocking the roads. So allow people to move freely on their roads.”
He says they will not only deal with taxi drivers who obstruct traffic but their employers as well.
Mkhwanazi says, “As a result of the complaints we’re getting as the police, while we are investigating the people that block the roads and when we find them definitely that’s going to take us to the owners of these taxis that are blocking the roads, that’s going to take us to the senior people within these associations that are behind these disturbance. So that when we act we don’t only act against the perpetrators but we also act against those that were behind the scenes who would have sent these people to go and cause chaos out there on the road.”
VIDEO | Commuters left stranded due to KZN Taxi Strike:
