Ekurhuleni taxi industry want Masina removed as mayor

The taxi operations at Ekurhuleni have been disrupted today due to the ongoing taxi strike.

The municipality’s Harambe bus service (BRT) has been suspended as well.

According to reports, the strikers are demanding that the Ekerhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) fast-track the construction of the BRT bus system, as they say it affects their taxi operation.

Additionally, the South African National Taxi Association (Santaco) said they want the mayor, Mzwandile Masina, to be removed for allegedly delaying the fixing of roads, EWN reports.

A memorandum by the Ekurhuleni taxi industry addressed to the EMM calls for Masina as well as city manager I Machazi to be removed in terms of Section 151 (2).

“Failure by the council to remove the mayor and the city manager will lead to the disruption of the transport service on a sustainable and prolonged manner,” the memorandum states.

In the memorandum, Masina is further accused of failing to acknowledge and respond to letters sent by the taxi industry in the past two years.

Some of the issues raised in the memorandum are:

• Failure to support the ETI [Ekurhuleni Taxi Industry] in obtaining finance for the BRT buses from DBSA due to the delay in doing the necessary deviation required in terms of Section 41 of the National Land Transport Act 5 of 2009.
• The actions of the mayor and the city manager calculated to destabilise the current BRT negotiations.
• The collision of the mayor and the city manager to ensure that the Harambe BRT agreements are not honoured.
• The mayor bringing ANC politics to the Harambe BRT hence destabilising the city and ETI engagements.
• Suspending the HOD in the middle of BRT negotiations without informing ETI.
• Failure by council to provide political will and support to the Harambe project.

Ekurhuleni MMC for transport Petrus Mabunda told the SABC this morning the strike is regrettable considering that the municipality is engaged in ongoing talks with the taxi industry.