Despite an undertaking by the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta) not to intimidate, threaten or prevent learner transport from operating, Western Cape Education Department (WCED) MEC David Maynier said minibus taxi associations continued their “illegal blockade” on Monday.

Maynier approached the Western Cape High Court on Friday, 17 February to obtain an urgent interdict against Codeta. He asked the court to prevent the taxi association and its members from issuing threats to the WCED Learner Transport Scheme (LTS) drivers, learners, and members of the public.

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The matter was postponed to this Friday, but Codeta gave an undertaking to back down from its decision to block LTS operators until the matter was heard by the court.

“As a result [of Monday’s blockade], 1,800 children who would ordinarily travel on our contracted transport missed school today,” said Maynier.

This number was down from that of Friday, when more than 3,200 children missed school in Khayelitsha and surrounding areas because of the blockade.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “New Western Cape Mobility MEC Ricardo Mackenzie ‘confident’ he can put brakes on Santaco taxi strike”

“Principals reported that some buses in Mfuleni were stopped and prevented from transporting learners, leaving children — some of them in primary school — stranded in the rain,” said Maynier.

Daily Maverick reported on Thursday that parents and their children from Khayelitsha and surrounding areas were frustrated last week when minibus taxi operators blocked scholar transport from taking children to school.

Maynier said minibus taxi associations were acting directly against learners’ best interests by preventing children from attending school, so they could extract contracts from the state.

“We will not tolerate extortion attempts that violate our children’s constitutional right to education.”

Codeta spokesperson Andile Khanyi said they were locked in a meeting with their lawyers when Daily Maverick called them for comment.

Scholar transport tenders

WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said that for contractors to be appointed for scholar transport, a tender had to go out.

“During the tender process, the contractors are required to offer specific vehicles to be used on the route.”

She said a contract was awarded to a contractor only when its vehicles had sufficient seating capacity for all the approved learners on the route.

“The contract is thus awarded with a specific authorised vehicle, with sufficient seating capacity, which is required to transport the learners. School principals and relevant district officials ensure that contracted service LTS contractors adhere to the conditions of the contract.

“Non-compliance with contractual obligations, including overloading of vehicles, leads to written warnings and eventually the termination of the contract in cases of persistent non-compliance.”

When a new contract is entered into for a particular route, LTS officials must immediately request that:

• The contractor submits a certified and valid licence, and roadworthy certificates for each approved vehicle on the route;
• For vehicles with a seating capacity of 16 seats or less, a vehicle test must be arranged no later than six months after a licence and roadworthy certificate have been issued for the approved vehicles;
• For vehicles with a seating capacity of more than 16 seats, new licence and roadworthy certificates must be requested from contractors upon expiry of the old documents;
• Should the roadworthiness of any vehicle assigned to an LTS route be questionable at any time, a vehicle test should be considered immediately; and
• A monthly report must be submitted to the vehicle testing coordinator at head office listing the vehicles tested and the new licence and roadworthy certificates within a particular month.

Hammond said that scheduled route and vehicle inspections were regularly conducted.

“Unannounced vehicle inspections can be conducted in response to internal or external queries relating to alleged non-compliance by LTS contractors. A report of the findings must be provided to the district director and the LTS coordinator at head office on a monthly basis.”

In cases where non-compliance with contractual conditions is identified, the transgressing LTS contractor must be placed in breach of contract and requested to remedy the breach.

Meanwhile, a planned stayaway by the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) in the Western Cape is going ahead on Wednesday. Premier Alan Winde, newly appointed Mobility MEC Ricardo Mackenzie and Cape Town Executive Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis will meet Santaco to try to persuade it to reconsider.

“I am also deeply concerned about commuters across the province who will not be able to go to work or school on Wednesday if this action goes ahead. I appeal to Santaco’s leadership to instead engage with us to try to find common ground,” said Winde.

The city’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, Rob Quintas, said they would not tolerate violence and intimidation during the stayaway.

“I want to make it very clear that the city will not tolerate thuggish behaviour on the day and that all necessary precautions will be taken to ensure the safety of commuters and other operators,” he said. DM