KZN cops on high alert amid reports of planned truck protest action

The acting KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) MEC for Transport, Community Safety, and Liaison, Kwazi Mshengu has said law enforcement agencies in the province are on high alert amid reports of a looming truck protest.

On Sunday evening, Mshengu was accompanied by the top brass of the police during his visit to truck depots in Durban and other hotspot areas to assess the effectiveness of police deployment amid reports of potential looming truck protest action.

Mshengu said that police have developed a comprehensive tactical enforcement plan targeting key hotspot areas.

“We are visiting all the truck stops around Durban to ensure that all systems are in place following intelligence reports which indicate that there may be possible disruptions in our highways and major transport routes in the province as a result of complaints by truck drivers. We are satisfied with the level of preparations and the security plan that has been developed. We can confirm that all our law enforcement agencies are on high-alert and there will be no one that will be spared if they transgress the law. We want to send a strong message to all truck drivers who may want to disrupt our national routes that all law enforcement agencies will act decisively,” Mshengu said.

The acting MEC said police operations will be closely monitored to ensure that should protest action break out the law can take its course.

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Mshengu further said the government has developed a robust plan of action and embarked on a process to address the challenges facing truck drivers through the road freight and logistics inter-ministerial task team that was set-up.

The task team is comprised of all government departments relevant to the issues raised by truck drivers, Mshengu said, adding that progress was being made, including sustained enforcement operations aimed at addressing issues of compliance in the freight industry.

The South African National Cargo Transport Drivers Association (SANCATDRA) president, Daniel Mofokeng said the association has caught wind of the looming protest and would like to distance itself from rumours about the strike and the protest itself.

Mofokeng said the association prefers to follow the law when embarking on protest action to ensure that its members are protected and do not run the risk of losing their jobs because of being part of an unprotected and unlawful strike.

Mofokeng said the last time the association embarked on protest action, which was legal and protected, was on 15 December 2020 when they marched to National Bargaining Council, calling on it to deregister all foreign truck drivers.

Mofokeng said the council has not responded to the association’s demands and was now planning on another legal protest.

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