The South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) says public transport will remain available as anti-migrant protests are staged for tomorrow.
Addressing the media, SANTACO president Motlhabane Abnar Tsebe clarified that they shall not be providing security, leaving it to the capable hands of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the national security cluster formed by the government to respond to the national shutdown.
Tsebe said they carefully listened to concerns raised by many South Africans since they announced their position to work with the police in a previous joint briefing, which he said may have come up as expressing SANTACO’s disapproval and concerns. 
“Others have questioned whether SANTACO had aligned itself with law enforcement or whether we had taken a position against fellow South Africans who intend to exercise their constitutional rights. We have heard those concerns, and they deserve a response,” he said.
Tsebe said they will neither play law enforcement nor are they interested in being an immigration authority.
SANTACO backs an industry transporting approximately 15 million commuters daily, contributing R50 billion to the GDP while supporting the fuel industry in billions per year. Over 400 000 jobs are created by the transport industry in South Africa while also enabling business ownership.
The industry contributes to creating employment, alleviating poverty and improving livelihoods, SANTACO said.
“Getting them safely to work, schools, hospitals, places of worship, businesses, and back to their families. The taxi industry is built by ordinary South Africans.
“It [the transport industry] provides livelihoods to hundreds of thousands of families and sustains thousands of small businesses that form the heartbeat of our taxi rank economy. We are not separating from the communities we serve. We are part of the community. We are those communities. Our operators understand the hardship facing South Africa because they experience those same hardships every day,” Tsebe said.
He said many communities can testify that taxi operators have often shown compassion where circumstances require it because the industry has always understood that behind every commuter is a family trying to survive.
“That is why our work has always centred on one objective, and that is providing safe, reliable, and accessible public transport. Whether through the Tlhokomolao Road Safety Campaign or partnerships with government, civil society, and the private sector, our efforts have consistently focused on improving safety and strengthening public transport. And that remains our mission today,” he said.
SANTACO clarified why they agreed to the joint briefing with the SAPS last week: “The purpose of that engagement was never to position SANTACO as an extension of law enforcement. It was never to discourage South Africans from exercising their democratic rights. It was never to suggest that SANTACO would participate in enforcing immigration laws or policing communities. Our participation served one purpose only, and that is to reassure the millions of commuters who depend on taxes every day that public transport would remain available to them on the 30th of June.”
Tsebe said the police maintain public safety while SANTACO ensures the transportation of the public safely, adding that they are alive to the calls by the organisers of marches not to promote criminality.
They have urged for peaceful protests.
“We have never opposed peaceful protests as SANTACO. We have never sought to discourage South Africans from expressing legitimate concerns. At the same time, constitutional rights are exercised alongside constitutional responsibilities. Our consistent appeal has simply been that every demonstration should remain peaceful, lawful and free from violence, intimidation, and criminality.”
SANTACO also warned against the repeat of May 2008 events as well as the devastating July 2021 unrest which first flared up in Eswatini.
“Those experiences taught us that when violence overtakes legitimate protests, it is ordinary South Africans who suffer first. In those instances, lives are lost, jobs disappear, business is destroyed, and public infrastructure is damaged.
“The community spent years rebuilding what was lost in a matter of days. Our appeal has therefore always been one responsibility. Not because we opposed the protest, but because we value human life, economic stability, and social cohesion. There has always been considerable discussion regarding SANTACO’s position on undocumented immigrants.”
