Minibus taxi drivers and law enforcement officers clash in Hout Bay.
Facebook Community Policing Forum/Hout Bay
- Violence broke out in the early hours of Thursday in Hout Bay.
- youTaxi drivers are upset by the seizure of minibus taxis in the area.
- Neighborhood councilor Roberto Quintas has condemned the violence.
The months-long dispute between the city of Cape Town and minibus taxi operators over the seized taxis reached a boiling point on Thursday when angry protesters took to the streets of Hout Bay, causing massive destruction as they went.
Protesters hurled bricks at passing cars, spilled gasoline on other vehicles and burned tires in the vicinity of the main circle at Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay.
City law enforcement officials said they were forced to implement several road closures due to the unrest.
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District Councilor Roberto Quintas said: “Travellers are advised to use alternative routes, which are open and will be monitored to remain so. City services as well as SAPS Public Order Police are on the place, with more on the way to contain the violence, which has included the throwing of rocks and rocks at cars and the pouring of gasoline in vehicles.”
Quintas added that city officials would arrest and charge perpetrators of public violence. He said:
It should be unequivocally noted that roadblocks and taxi checks are to ensure that travelers are transported in safe and roadworthy vehicles, that the drivers of these vehicles have valid driving licenses and have the necessary public driving licenses. , which is a requirement when driving public passengers, and that the taxis have the necessary permits and are not operating illegally on a route, leading to conflict within the minibus taxi industry.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the violence and hooliganism to which our communities are exposed and which is instigated by those who delight in driving unsafe vehicles, putting the lives of travelers at risk, and driving passengers without licenses and operating illegally. , which generates more conflicts between various legal operators,” he added.
The riots in Hout Bay come amid threats of a mass taxi strike next week, following the cancellation of the provincial government’s Project Blue Dot.
The SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) in the Western Cape is planning a taxi closure on Monday and Tuesday.
Mobility MEC Daylin Mitchell is expected to meet with the taxi industry on Thursday.
