Mandla Gcaba was officially introduced as chairperson of the SANTACO Presidential Council Forum (PCF) at the organisation’s recent elective conference in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni.
Speaking at the event, Gcaba said he was humbled to lead a forum made up of SANTACO’s elders.
He said he was committed to the industry’s success, describing it as a business that truly represents black excellence.
Gcaba also reflected briefly on SANTACO’s history and the significance of its Presidential Council Forum.
Gcaba also reflected briefly on SANTACO’s history and the significance of its Presidential Council Forum.
“I left after we formed SANTACO and ventured into buses and other businesses,” he said, adding that Msibi became “the backbone behind SANTACO, representing the founders’ trust”.
Gcaba said that after Msibi’s passing, he made it clear he would not take over the running of the taxi industry but would instead offer advice and guidance together with other industry elders.
“When Msibi passed away, I made it known at his memorial service that I was not going to be like him. I said we should invoke clause 16 of SANTACO’s constitution and establish a Presidential Council Forum (PCF).
“I said we needed a structure, not a person, because a person
may be here today and gone tomorrow. People die — and one day I will die too — but a structure will never die,” he said.
He said such a structure would ensure continuity and protect
the taxi industry’s legacy, allowing SANTACO to be inherited by future generations.
Gcaba said the PCF was not created to give individuals positions or control over the mother body’s affairs, but to provide oversight role.
“The PCF is part of SANTACO’s founding document, whose authors include former Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke. It is not an arbitrary body; it is meant to oversee SANTACO’s NEC. Even in government, separation of powers provides checks and balances to prevent the abuse of power,” he explained.
Former SANTACO president Arthur Jabulani “AJ” Mthembu, who served from 2006 to 2010, echoed Gcaba’s views:
“The PCF is a constitutional structure. It has been dormant for years but has now been activated because the organisation needed us — the elders of SANTACO,” Mthembu said.
According to Mthembu, the PCF, chaired by Gcaba, consists of nine representatives recommended by SANTACO’s provincial structures.
The PCF members introduced at the elective conference include Western Cape veteran Junaid Peters, Eastern Cape UNCEDO leader Ntsikelelo Gaehler, Kwa- Zulu-Natal veteran AJ Mthembu and Mpumalanga representative Joe Sibanyoni.
Gcaba said the remaining provinces are expected to submit the names of individuals who will serve on the PCF.
PCF membership comes with strict conditions.
According to Gcaba, PCF members must have “no aspiration to contest for SANTACO leadership”.
“The PCF is a supreme structure for those who are not conflicted and who do not wish to be elected,” he said.
Participation in the PCF may therefore limit the prospects of those who aspire to lead SANTACO.
“Once you sit in the PCF, you have disqualified yourself from contesting a leadership position in the mother body,” he said.
Gcaba assured taxi operators that, with the PCF in place,
SANTACO’s leadership, including president Abnar Tsebe, would be held accountable for how they govern the mother body.
“We need people in SANTACO who will deliver on the mandate of our people, not their own mandate,” he said, while welcoming the newly elected leadership of Abnar Tsebe.
