Western Cape Taxi strike:

Al Jama-ah calls on relevant Ministers to revert the Western Cape’s Transport and Community Safety Departments back to National government and to place the City of Cape Town’s Safety and Security department under administration:

Al Jama-ah has called on the Ministers of Cogta and Transport to revert the Western Cape’s Community Safety and Transport departments back to National government and to place the City of Cape Town’s Safety and Security under administration.

This is unfolding action by Al Jama-ah and will be updated as it is seeking legal advice on the matter. The party is further looking at legal advice into calling for a state of disaster in transport matters in the Western Cape (WC) and for the army to be deployed.

Al Jama-ah says both the WC MECs Ricardo Mackenzie (Mobility) and Allen Reagan (Community Safety) as well as JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security in City of Cape Town, must step aside to receive training in community sensitivity and the understanding of the importance of indigent residents right to a livelihood. “They must exercise their powers with more understanding and humbleness and not use their Facebook pages to placate white Constituency for political gain,” says Hon Ganief Hendricks, leader of Al Jama-ah.

Communities on the Cape Flats and surrounding areas are severely affected by the taxi strike and violence. They are unable to get to their places of work and to open their businesses. Thousands of school children are losing out on their education. “Whilst we condemn the violence, we also note with concern the heavy-handedness used by the City of Cape Town’s law enforcement officers against taxi operators – it is the communities living on the Cape Flats and not those living in Sea Point and Constantia – who suffer during the strike action,” says Hendricks.

He says the city should take responsibility for the current situation and calls on taxi operators to refrain from stopping other transport systems from operating. Hendricks will further personally contact President Cyril Ramaphosa for urgent intervention to stop the taxi strike.