IT IS GOING ON as usual at the taxi industry in KwaNdengezi, Durban, following the fact that passengers were left stranded on Thursday.
With the discovery ofof this country, 22 taxis belonging to the KwaNdengezi association were seized by the police on Thursday and Friday morning.
The taxi operators then stopped the operation of their vehicles following the action of the police.
Many have analyzed the action of the police as a response to the incident of the harassment of the driver of the paid car for the distance traveled by the security company hired by the local association.
In that incident which is said to have happened on Wednesday, the security guards of the On Call Security company were seen, forcibly stopping the driver of this car, who was carrying women who were said to have called him to give them a ride.
The chairman of the association of this area, Mr. Zibuse Ngcamu, said It is a country yesterday that the situation has returned to normal following that there were discussions between them in the industry and the municipal police.
He dismissed the allegations that the police confiscated their cars because of the incident of the attack on the driver of the toll car.
“We do not believe that the confiscation of our taxis is related to that incident. What is happening is that the police have the power to confiscate taxis that do not have permits to operate in different areas,” said Ngcamu.
He clarified that it is not that their taxis are breaking the law by operating without permits.
He said the problem lies with the government as they have receipts showing that they applied for work permits but the government has not yet given them.
He said he wanted to clarify the fact that what was spread on social media that the security company was harassing the driver of the toll car for the distance traveled because he had picked up the passengers, is not true.
“The driver hit the security car, then he didn’t want to stop, he ran away, and then there was a fight. What has spread on social media is not true,” he said.
He said that they do not fight the drivers of these cars if they are carrying one or two passengers because they understand that they are called by those passengers.
“The first place we have a problem is when they are moving the staves, someone has loaded them into a seven-person car. Again, when we notice that he is passing through the same place at the same time for days in a row, we reprimand him properly, and tell him that what he is doing is not compatible with us because we have permission to load the public in large numbers, they do not,” said Ngcamu.
In this area, there was a noise similar to this one late last year when the watchmen disturbed the drivers of these vehicles near the garage, telling them that they are not allowed to stop and wait for passengers. After that noise, the police opened fire on the taxi drivers, confiscated their “unlicensed” taxis, and arrested them.
In Wednesday’s incident of an attack on the driver of a toll car, the police confirmed the arrest of three security guards involved in the incident.