It’s business unusual for the taxi industry as operators call for a caring new government. Like most industries, the taxi industry is set to undergo a major shift under the proposed Government of National Unity (GNU) as the rest of country gears up for shift in policy and economic direction.
As the sector prepares for the unknown, it must be stressed that once a government is installed, its irresponsibility is to serve all South African citizens irrespective of their political affiliation.
The change for government post elections should not create a sense of uncertainty and fear for taxi operators, particularly so given that the outgoing government had failed to address some of their most pressing issues in the past.
It is public knowledge that taxi operators have had an on-and-off relationship with the outgoing government as they felt neglected, constantly complaining that their concerns are not being taken seriously.
The taxi leaders know the truth as some of them spent an incredibly large amount of time on government corridors
begging to be listened to or supported financially, failure of which saw them having to lobby for business sponsorships. The taxi industry does not deserve to beg anyone for financial support – it is a lucrative market on its own.
The industry has to start behaving and acting as a successful business conglomerate that is capable of marshalling its resources and engaging in serious businesses transactions independently. However, the first thing that needs to be done is to get its house in order.
“As for the industry’s biggest shortcoming, it is a known fact that it lacks a comprehensive business model or framework to anchor its business activities beyond discussing Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) or government-initiated projects, which often leads them to competing with corrupt politician sponsored BEE companies.”
