27.04.2025
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SANTACO defends govt’s R408-million COVID-19 taxi relief fund

3 mins



  • Taxis at a rank in Gauteng

2 minutes

The South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) defends government’s decision to allocate R408 million from the COVID-19 Relief Fund to the taxi industry.

This comes after Build One South Africa (BOSA) questioned the once-off gratuity, which was allocated in the 2025-26 budget. 

Responding to a Parliamentary question posed by BOSA leader Mmusi Maimane, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy says that Cabinet approved an ex-gratia payment to assist taxi operators affected by the COVID-19 restrictions in 2021.

However, not all beneficiaries have been able to access the funds. 

TUNE IN | SANTACO pushes back at criticism of R408m payout to taxi operators 

SANTACO national spokesperson Mmatshikhidi Rebecca Phala explained the challenges some operators faced in accessing the relief.

“The taxi industry is currently experiencing a big problem with operating license backlogs. So, some operators, at the time when the funds were initially announced, did not have their operating licenses and as a result of that, because it’s one of the biggest prerequisites for one to be able to apply, they couldn’t do that. So, it’s one of the reasons why it’s only being distributed now. But they’ve also been hardest hit, just as everybody else, so we’re not certain why it’s being questioned. Because it’s not like it’s been given to just about everyone. It’s been given to deserving operators.” 

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