The North West MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management Wessels Morweng said an impasse that led to the shutdown of some parts of the N12 at the Dr. Kenneth Kaunda District, has successfully been resolved following a lengthy meeting with the regional SANTACO leadership and other stakeholders in Stilfontein.
The district includes three local municipalities, JB Marks in Potchefstroom, City of Matlosana in Klerksdorp and Maquassi Hills in Wolmaransstad
The protest was provoked by long-standing issues with the province’s permit board.
The traffic flow was severely impacted when trucks and minibus taxis were used to blockade the busy N12 road stretching from Potchefstroom to Tower Mall in Matlosana, Orkney 4-Way on the R30, Ikageng, the R30 at Ventersdorp, the N12 Bridge at Wolmaransstad, the N12 at Stilfontein, and the 4-way stop at Leeudoringstad.
Morweng, who was speaking on You FM Newshour said the impasse was caused by miscommunication or ambiguity in their messaging issued to SANTACO regarding the issuance of new taxi permits.
“I issued a directive that we need to stop issuance of new permits, something that SANTACO brought to my attention in my continuous meeting with them.
“You’ll recall that SANTACO is a very important stakeholder that I’m in continuous meetings with as the MEC for Transport Management in this province.
SANTACO brought the issue to my attention, saying that MEC has a bloated industry even, our taxi ranks don’t have space.
The business is no longer providing income to taxi operators.
“We’re not managing but the problem comes from the Department, there’s a lot of permits that we cannot even account for as the organisation,” said Morweng.
The MEC apologized to SANTACO for the miscommunication, while the taxi organisation also apologised for the inconvenience caused.
Meanwhile, SANTACO’s Regional Chairperson Mayekani Shiyekile told Newsnote that a decision was taken on Sunday following a meeting with the permit board that a shutdown will be appropriate to seek the MEC’s attention on the matter.
In addition, Shiyekele said taxi operators applied for licenses as early as 2021, following a moratorium during former Transport MEC, Dr Mpho Motlhabane’s tenure.
“Those who were granted licenses now find that, when they go to the permit board to collect them, they’re told that the MEC has ordered the board not to issue them, despite having granted letters.
“We know that every Monday, ANC leadership and members of the provincial legislature meet over several issues, so we couldn’t wait for Tuesday, because our experiences taught us that they’re not available during the week,” explained Shiyekele.
All roads have since been unblocked following the meeting.
