Twelve taxis were impounded while City and Santaco were in a closed door meeting about how to end what Santaco believe are unfair impoundments. The incident happened on the morning of Tuesday 22 August.
Kevin Jacobs, spokesperson for the Traffic Service in Cape Town, confirmed the impoundments, stating that the City’s Transport Enforcement Unit conducted enforcement patrols on Voortekker Road in response to complaints received. The impounded minibus taxis were found to be operating without valid licenses, permits, or adequate roadworthiness.
Santaco spokesperson Nceba Enge said he didn’t have information regarding the latest impoundments, as they occurred while they were in a meeting with various stakeholders, including the City, the Minister of Transport, and the MEC of Mobility.
Last week, Santaco filed an application with the Western Cape High Court, accusing traffic officers of impounding their vehicles even after agreeing to suspend impoundments for certain offenses for two weeks. While the court dismissed some of Santaco’s demands, it made the agreements reached between the parties an order of the court.
Since reaching an agreement on August 10th, which ended the eight-day deadly strike, both Santaco and the City have continued to accuse each other of misrepresenting the public about the details of their closed-door discussions.