By Anita Dangazele
- Taxi associations blocked roads in Kariega, demanding quick repairs to a bridge damaged in the June floods.
- Motorists have been forced to use residential roads, causing them to sink and become full of potholes.
Frustrated taxi drivers brought Kariega traffic to a standstill on Monday, demanding action from the municipality over a collapsed bridge and crumbling roads.
Drivers blocked major routes in protest, saying they were tired of waiting for repairs to the Matanzima road bridge, which was damaged in last year’s floods.
Uitenhage Taxi Association (UTA) representative Mbuyiseli Mfengu said drivers have had enough of the municipality’s “empty promises”.
“The [KwaNobuhle] bridge is broken from last year [during the July floods] and the roads we are using are littered with potholes,” said Mfengu.
Since the June floods, drivers have been forced to use Nomakhwezana and Ndlambe roads, which run through residential areas.
But heavy traffic from trucks, buses, taxis and delivery vans has badly damaged those roads too.
“We need to buy tyres all the time. They keep making promises but nothing is happening,” Mfengu said. “We will protest until the municipality comes to address us.”
Taxi groups involved in the protest included UTA, the Uncedo Service Taxi Association and the Uitenhage District Taxi Association.
Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) official Babalwa Lobishe met with taxi groups, but the meeting fell apart after reports that police used tear gas on taxis near Matanzima Cemetery and allegedly threatened to shoot drivers who refused to move.
Lobishe said the strike came just as contractors were about to start work on fixing disaster-hit areas.
“Another meeting with the taxi association will be held, where contractors will present their contracts as proof that work will commence tomorrow,” she said.
Lobishe claimed the taxi groups agreed to call off the strike. But the associations said they want real proof that work will begin.
The mayor was expected to name the contractor on Monday.
NMBM has faced heavy criticism for failing to spend the flood relief funds it received from the national treasury late last year. The municipality must spend the money by 31 May or lose it.
Pictured above: Taxi associations shut down Kariega to demand fast action on rebuilding infrastructure after the June floods left many roads damaged last year in KwaNobuhle.
Image source: Supplied by Kariega residents
