Many workers in the Western Cape have been left stranded this week as the violence and unrest in the taxi industry continues with as many as 82 people killed this year already due to the ongoing taxi violence.
On Monday and Tuesday, as many as 100 000 workers had no way of getting to work and making use of alternative transport modes has been difficult with Golden Arrow bus services only able to operate at 40% capacity.
The reason behind the latest spate of violence is a fight between the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata) and the Congress of Democratic Taxi Association (Codeta) over control of the B97 route between Paarl and Mbekweni.
Taking a taxi has become a deadly affair with hitmen hired to attack drivers and passengers get hit in the crossfire.
Cape Chamber of Commerce President Jacques Moolman told Daily Maverick that the cost of the violence on the economy was “almost incalculable” and that a solution “has to be found urgently, not at least in the interest of the taxi industry itself”.
Yesterday, Yaser Ahmed, director at the Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works, confirmed that incentive payments made to Cata and Codeta had been suspended as the funds are allegedly used to hire hitmen. While Premier Alan Winde has vowed to arrest “warlords and thugs” in the industry and termed the unrest as “terrorism”.
We’re still picking up the pieces of the recent looting and before we can take stock of those losses we’re already on the frontlines of another battle.
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:
SA Business
KZN looting and destruction could cost eThekwini R20bn, says acting city manager – Daily Maverick
SA’s largest crude oil refinery to restart after shutdown during unrest – Fin24
Mr Price purchase of Yuppiechef gains approval – BusinessTech
Global Business
The EU wants to ban anonymous crypto wallets to counter money laundering and terrorism – Business Insider
Central banks, wealth funds going greener and more activist – Reuters
French President Macron among potential Pegasus spyware targets – AFP
In-depth
Ekurhuleni: High hopes trashed as hundreds of millions promised to community contractors evaporate – Daily Maverick
Despite being a passenger on Bezos’ space flight, Wally Funk will still take her trip with Virgin Galactic that she paid $200,000 for over a decade ago – Business Insider
Crypto Company Fundraising And Rising Investments In Cryptocurrencies Are Jaw Dropping – Forbes
Download the news aggregator app SAccess, available on Google Play and the App Store, to stay on top of business and market news from around the world.
