Armsta and ATA finally find each other in the taxi industry wars in Alex
The war of 'tins on four wheels' is now a thing of the past as the warring taxi associations finally agree to silence the guns in Alexandra.
Alexandra’s warring taxi associations have finally found each other and agreed to silence the guns that have claimed many lives on both sides over many decades of conflict and fighting over routes for their ‘tins on four wheels’.
The secret that has boggled many minds is finally out – that the Alexandra Randburg Midrand and Sandton Taxi Association (Armsta) and its bitter rival, the Alexandra Taxi Association (ATA) have finally found peace and that they ‘will no longer be hunting and preying on each other in the jungles of the Alex streets’.
This was disclosed by former Armsta public relations officer John Mnisi when he took to the podium during the association’s Mandela Day luncheon for the grannies and granddads at the Altrek Hall in the East Bank section of Alexandra.
Armsta veteran Mnisi started off by saying “There was one milestone that we in the taxi industry have achieved but continues to boggle the minds and evade the ANC internally, and this will continue to be a worrisome factor for as long as they don’t confront it head-on and, on an eyeball, to eyeball.”
“We did it in the taxi industry and went on a bosberaad and looked each other eyeball to eyeball and asked the pertinent questions on why we are fighting and how we can silence the guns that have claimed so many lives of our members and those of our commuters caught in the crossfire,” Mnisi told his audience at the hall.
Without disclosing where and when Mnisi said after several days, Armsta and ATA found each other and agreed to silence the guns and let bygones be bygones and chart a new chapter of peace and prosperity in the industry.
“We went to the bush to map a new direction for the taxi industry in our township outside the fighting and gun-toting and we came back as one with one vision. Armsta has always been perceived as ANC aligned while ATA was perceived as IFP aligned.
“I can tell today that our colours don’t lie [gold, green and black] as you can see them and they speak for themselves that we are ANC aligned,” Mnisi said as he pointed to the different colour beanies handed over to the grannies and granddads.
“I am sure most of you must have been asking yourselves about this coincidence and resemblance of colours, yes we are ANC and we are publicly disclosing it for the very first time today,” he said.
“The peace you see today in the industry and the unity we have struck has evaded the ANC but the taxi industry in Alexandra has made it,” he concluded.
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