By Buziwe Nocuze
- Luzuko Mdambatya drives a seven-seater in Khayelitsha and is asking his boss to pay him more after petrol prices jumped.
- Taxi patrollers chased the staff driver and forced him to pay them R1,500 so he can work safely this year.
Luzuko Mdambatya drives a seven-seater vehicle to transport workers from Khayelitsha to their jobs. High petrol prices and dangerous criminals are making his job very difficult.
He does not take money from the workers he transports. The company that employs the workers pays his salary.
Mdambatya has asked the bosses of the company for a meeting to discuss his pay. He needs more money because the petrol price keeps going up.
“I have already contacted their boss asking for a meeting where we will be talking about the price increase,” said Mdambatya.
He kept his prices the same during the last petrol hike because he hoped the fuel cost would drop. Instead, it went up again.
“If I continue like this it will affect my salary so I don’t have a choice but to increase the money,” he said.
But petrol is not his only problem. Men who call themselves taxi patrollers are harassing him on the road.
“Those guys are making our lives a living hell,” said Mdambatya.
He said the patrollers chased him several times until he gave up. They demanded that he pay them R1,500 for the year so they would leave him alone. He paid the money to stop the harassment.
Drivers also face the constant threat of crime. Criminals target them on their routes, stealing their belongings and hijacking their vehicles.
“We cannot stop because we are doing this so that we can take care of our families,” he said.
Makhosandile Tumana from the taxi association did not answer questions about the patrollers demanding money from staff transport drivers.
Pictured above: A seven seater Toyota Avanza.
Image source: File photo
