Cape Town - The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) said its pupils’ safety and education had been put at risk after an attempt of extortion by the minibus taxi associations.
Western Cape education MEC David Maynier said a large number of pupils from Khayelitsha were absent from school due to an illegal blockade by taxi associations in the area on Monday.
“This morning, I visited Academia Primary School, where over 50% of their pupils have been prevented from going to school due to an illegal blockade of learner transport operations by minibus taxi associations.
“Today, their absenteeism rate is 90%,” Maynier said.
He said minibus taxi association members have been threatening and harassing the WCED contracted drivers to prevent them from transporting pupils.
“This is an attempt to muscle in on transport contracts and to extort money from the WCED.
“The blockade has affected up to 2 400 pupils last week, depriving them of their constitutional right to education, and we await feedback from our schools as to the number of pupils affected today.
“This includes our special needs pupils, where a driver was forced to turn back as he feared for his safety and took pupils home.
“This comes after a taxi strike kept over 128 000 children and 2 400 staff members home from school last year and disrupted the matric exams.
“Minibus taxi associations are demonstrating that in order to line their own pockets, they are willing to compromise the matric exams and compromise teaching and learning in our schools, sacrificing the best interest of our children,” Maynier said.
He said the minibus industry was also spreading fake news pertaining to promised contracts by the WCED.
“The minibus taxi associations have also been spreading disinformation, claiming that they were promised contracts by the Western Cape Education Department. This is false.
“Here are the facts: the minibus taxi associations appear to be demanding that we allocate transport contracts to them without following tender processes, which we cannot and will not do. It is simply illegal.
“Let us be clear: the WCED will not meet with any minibus taxi association until they terminate their blockade and teaching and learning resumes without disruption.
“They have now allegedly issued a threat to ‘offload’ pupils from any transport not operated by minibus taxi association members, posing a serious threat to our children’s safety.
“This allegedly includes parents driving their children to school because their usual transport is not operating,” Maynier said.
He said he would be meeting with the Provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile, to discuss what the South African Police Service (SAPS) will be doing to stop the attempted extortion and intimidation by the taxi industry.
Maynier reiterated that the attempted extortion is a crime against its pupils and must stop immediately.
The chairperson for the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) in the Western Cape, Mandla Hermanus, confirmed a meeting would be held on Monday in Portlands, Mitchells Plain.
The meeting is expected to pertain to scholar transport, by-laws, meter taxis and subsidies etc.
A voice note doing the rounds on social media pertaining to the blockade of scholar transport has been debunked.
Hermanus said the voice note does not come from them and said once the meeting has concluded, an update on the blockade in Khayelitsha will be given as leadership from the region is expected to be present.
IOL