TZANEEN: Friction leads to sjambok-war
Many of the hitchhikers have since moved from these popular thumbing spots to other spots just for a ride to go home.
Taxi drivers have been accused of beating and harassing people who use lifts instead of taxis with sjamboks recently.
For the past few weeks there has been friction between the local taxi associations and hitchhikers.
Letaba Herald received numerous complaints from residents about taxi drivers assualting people who were asking for lifts.
According to sources on a number of occasions the drivers have allegedly been seen blocking other cars from picking up passangers on the bus stop on the Sapekoe Road, hiking spot on the R71 road and the hiking spot on Sapekoe Road on the R36 road.
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A manager of a company who wishes to be unidentified, said that he saw taxi drivers at a bus stop on the Sapekoe Road assaulting people with a sjambok who got off bakkies and out of other sedans.
He also said that a few of his staff members have been coming to work late and some even missed work, because of the assaults.
“All these people want to go home to their families after work, who gives you a right to beat someone for not having money for a taxi. You cannot treat other people like that, so if people don’t have enough money for a taxi they must be beaten?” the manager asked.
Many of the hitchhikers have since moved from these popular thumbing spots to other spots just for a ride to go home.
“My reasons for thumbing is because I don’t have enough money to pay for taxi fare,” explained Moses Makhubele, a hitchhiker.
Another hitchhiker from Thabina Village says he prefers paying R5 for a lift rather than R13 for a taxi, because he does not earn much.
Herald spoke to Jonathan Manganyi from the Nkowankowa Taxi Association about the matter and he denied any knowledge of the beating of passengers with a sjamboks.
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“We are protecting our jobs and income, we have valid permits to transport people and now someone without a permit renders the same service we are offering at a lower price. It is not fair on us. When the traffic officials find us driving on roads we are not allowed to drive on they give us a fine or impound our vehicles. Let the very same treatment be given to people who are giving lifts,” said Manganyi.
Manganyi acknowledged that this issue has been going on for years and they have tried engaging the traffic deparment to no avail.
The Chief of Traffic in the Greater Tzaneen Municipality, Johannes Malatjie said that “Anyone is allowed to use any mode of transport they wish to use and no one has a right to force them to use something they don’t want to. As the department we have put traffic cones on the hiking spots to show that it is not a loading area and if anyone is found there trying to load people they will be fined,” Malatjie added.
Malatjie concluded by warning bakkie drivers to stop loading their vehicles to capacity because if an accident happens the Road Accident Fund does not pay out because of recklessness.
