Covid-19: Welcome relief to taxi industry
ALEXANDRA – R3million donation for sanitisers, mask to ease taxi industry burden
Financial services company, SA Taxi donated R3-million worth of hand sanitisers and facial masks to the minibus taxi industry to help with the containment of the coronavirus.
SA Taxi communications executive, Maroba Maduma said it was the company’s act of patriotism and compassion for this public transport service which was relied upon daily by millions of citizens and like all other sectors, it has been impacted immensely by the lockdown measures.
The donation was given to the two main industry associations, South African National Taxi Council and National Taxi Alliance (NTA). “With most forms of public transport halted by the lockdown, the country relies heavily on local minibuses to transport most of the essential service workforce and at considerable risk to the taxi operators’ own health and with significant financial losses,” Maduma added.
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This said after concerns arose following Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula’s amendment of legislation on the number of passengers to be carried by the minibuses. The amendment, which increased the number of passengers per minibus from 50 per cent to 70 per cent capacity during the lockdown left many worried that this could heighten the risk of transmission.
Maroba said despite the concerns, the donation of scarce items requested by President Cyril Ramaphosa was a welcome relief to the industry and complemented government’s bold steps to contain the spread of the deadly disease.
Commending the donation, NTA secretary-general Phalama Mamabolo said, “We are extremely grateful to SA Taxi for the unsolicited act at a time of immense challenge to the taxi industry. We thank them for standing up with others to help the country carry the weight of this burden.”
Most of the donated items, he added, would go to Gauteng which was the epicentre of the virus. “We will work closely with national and provincial governments to roll out the remainder of the vital supplies to other provinces.”
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