Taxi mafia continues to prevent 1 800 children from attending school

20 February 2023

Despite an undertaking by the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta) not to intimidate, threaten, or prevent learner transport from operating, minibus taxi associations continued their illegal blockade today

As a result, 1 800 children who would ordinarily travel on our contracted transport missed school today.

Principals reported that some busses in Mfuleni were stopped and prevented from transporting learners, leaving children – some of them in primary school – stranded in the rain

What the minibus taxi mafia is doing is a crime, and cannot be justified.

We have taken decisive action against those who are preventing our children from attending school to serve their own commercial interests:

I have laid a criminal complaint of common assault, intimidation, and extortion, with the South African Police Service (SAPS) against the minibus taxi associations currently preventing our children from getting to school

We approached the Western Cape High Court to obtain an urgent interdict against Codeta, preventing them from obstructing, interfering, and stopping the transporting of learners within the Western Cape.

Codeta has backed down and agreed to an interim arrangement whereby they will suspend their illegal blockade of our Learner Transport Scheme operators, until such time as the matter can be heard before the Court.

I have declined the request for a meeting from the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco), who were hoping to act as a broker with Codeta.

Our position remains unchanged: The Western Cape Education Department will not meet with any minibus taxi association until they unconditionally end the blockade and stop terrorising our children and our parents.

We remain in contact with the SAPS, which has committed to stepping up their operations to bring an end to the harassment of our contracted drivers.

Minibus taxi associations are acting directly against our learners’ best interests by preventing children from attending school in order to extract contracts from the state.

We will not tolerate extortion attempts that violate our children’s constitutional right to education.

Issued by Kerry Mauchline, Spokesperson to Minister David Maynier, 20 February 2023 

Previous:

Codeta backs down and suspends their blockade of learner transport

17 February 2023

Today I approached the Western Cape High Court to obtain an urgent interdict against the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta), preventing them from obstructing, interfering, and stopping the transporting of learners within the Western Cape.

I further asked the Court to interdict the taxi association and its members from issuing threats to our Learner Transport Scheme drivers, learners, and members of the public.

Over 3 200 children missed school today in Khayelitsha and surrounding areas as a result of the illegal blockade.

The Court recognised the urgency of the matter. Codeta has backed down and agreed to an interim arrangement whereby they will suspend their illegal blockade of our Learner Transport Scheme operators, until such time as the matter can be heard before the Court.

This is a binding commitment before the Court, and any breach of the agreement would be considered to be in contempt.

Per the undertaking, Codeta and its members undertake not to:

6.1  obstruct, interfere and stop the transporting of learners (including service providers of learner transport contracted by the Western Cape Education Department) within the Western Cape; and

6.2  issue threats to the applicants, service providers of learner transport (including service providers of learner transport contracted by the Western Cape Education Department), learners and members of the public to the effect that they (the respondent) will obstruct, interfere and stop the transporting of learners (including service providers of learner transport contracted by the Western Cape Education Department) within the Western Cape.

In addition, I have laid a criminal complaint with the South African Police Service (SAPS) against the minibus taxi associations currently preventing our children from getting to school.

I provided a variety of evidence to them, including the statement issued by Codeta, which announces the hijacking of our Learner Transport Scheme routes. I also provided the media comments by various taxi association representatives, and photos of children hiding in the footwells of vehicles to escape the notice of criminals and thugs.

The SAPS has committed to stepping up their operations to bring an end to the harassment of our contracted drivers.

Our position remains unchanged: The Western Cape Education Department will not meet with any minibus taxi association until they unconditionally end the blockade and stop terrorising our children and our parents.

Preventing children from attending school in order to extract contracts from the state is an infringement of our children’s Constitutional right to education, and the taxi associations are acting directly against our learners’ best interests.

They would immediately and unconditionally end their blockade if they cared at all about the wellbeing of our children.

Clearly, they don’t.

Issued by Kerry Mauchline, Spokesperson to Minister David Maynier, 20 February 2023