Toyota South Africa’s Sesfikile training program concluded after supporting delegates from 2016 to 2025. The total number of delegates who received certificates is 1,469 out of 1,700 who enrolled.
Parks Moraladi, Senior Manager: Tender & Taxi Business, praised the taxi operators for their dedication and professionalism, which contributed to the success of the Ses’fikile training programme in the industry.
According to Moraladi the training programme, initially set to end in 2021, has been extended through 2025 “considering the response and impact the Ses’fikile programme have had in the taxi industry”.
He says the training programme began in 2016 with the aim to promote unity and skills development in the taxi industry through training.
“As we bid farewell to the class of 2025 today, we celebrate the accomplishments of delegates from various taxi organizations belonging to both the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) and the National Taxi Alliance (NTA),” Maraladi said.
Professor Melanie Wiese, University of Pretoria, pays moving tribute to the taxi operators who participated in the programme wishing them a brighter future ahead.
“Not only were delegates equipped with skills transferable to their associations and community at large, but facilitators were also allowed a glimpse into the taxi industry.
“Delegates from various taxi associations collaborated in these courses, fostering mutual understanding and improving the industry. Reflecting on the past, we are proud of our involvement and optimistic about the future,” Wiese said in farewell speech.
Daki Qumbu, Secretary General of SANTACO, says that Toyota’s dedication to advancing the taxi industry is evident.
“Toyota has consistently supported the taxi industry with financial aid and programmes like Ses’fikile training programme, which ended with the class of 2025. However, our partnership continues as management plans future opportunities for the industry,” Qumbu said.
He added: “We salute and congratulates our graduates and challenges them to apply their acquired skills for the development of the industry in general.”
Job Malindi, chairperson of the Free State National Taxi Alliance and regular speaker at Toyota’s graduation events, said the collaboration between the taxi industry, Toyota, and the University of Pretoria has been valuable.
Malindi says “witnessing taxi operators graduating from the training programme “made him proud”.
He thanked Toyota for its support of the taxi industry, pointing out that in the past, taxi operators were often seen as unlikely to reach institutions like the University of Pretoria because of prevailing negative views about the minibus taxi sector. He remarked that Toyota has helped create ongoing educational opportunities for the industry.
Victoria Malope of Boseka Taxi Association in Limpopo, a Sesfikile Office Management Programme graduate, described the programme as empowering and transformative.
“It has provided me with valuable insights into interpersonal relations and effective communication within the association. Additionally, I gained knowledge about budgeting for the association’s finances, and event management training equipped me with the skills to organise successful events through proper timing and planning.
“Significantly, I learned the importance of efficiently managing office operations. Overall, the experience was highly empowering,” Malope said.
The class of 2025 graduation events started on the 19 September covering, Free State, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Mpumalanga and with the last lap of the graduation ceremony taking place in Gauteng’s University of Pretoria campus on the 14 November 2025.
