Minibuses blockade Umhlanga as irate taxi operators demand rank at swanky mall

• Taxi operators caused major congestion in the Umhlanga CBD in Durban when they blockaded several roads on Tuesday.
• Santaco told News24 its main grievances were around the placement of concrete barriers near the newly opened Oceans Mall.
• It wants the mall and eThekwini Municipality to build a taxi rank for it.

The SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) has called for the removal of concrete barricades near the newly opened Oceans Mall in Umhlanga, Durban, pending the finalisation of talks around the parking of minibuses in the area.

Taxis blockaded the CBD on Tuesday to express their dissatisfaction, resulting in traffic being brought to a standstill.

Santaco KwaZulu-Natal manager Sifiso Shangase said the barricades prevented them from transporting commuters in and out of the luxurious shopping complex.

Shangase added:

"We were under the impression that the mall was looking for an alternative venue for the parking of minibus taxis but to our surprise, today, we woke up to find that we no longer had anywhere to park," he said.

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Shangase lashed out at the eThekwini Municipality, accusing it of failing to resolve spatial planning issues in the city.

He added officials failed to accommodate taxi operators and commuters who used their services.  

The taxi blockade, which started just before midday on Tuesday, caused congestion on the M4 and other roads in the vicinity of the Umhlanga lighthouse.

Business premises were also blocked, with many unable to make deliveries to customers.

Some commuters took to social media to complain about being unable to access or leave their places of work.

Police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said they were monitoring the situation amid increasing panic and frustration among motorists affected by the blockade.

eThekwini metro police said it had reached a temporary solution with minibus taxi operators, but traffic remained backed up late into the afternoon.

Supplied/eThekwini Metro Police

eThekwini metro police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Boysie Zungu said they had reached a temporary solution with minibus taxi operators, but traffic was still heavily backed up by 17:00.

Zungu added: "We will temporarily remove the concrete barricades and tomorrow [Wednesday], we will return here [Umhlanga] to discuss a permanent solution to this problem."

Local councillor Nicole Bollman said she had raised the lack of parking facilities for minibus taxis in Umhlanga with the municipality for years, but no action had been taken.

"The taxi operators haven't been heard… Over 100 taxis operating in Umhlanga have nowhere to go and the City has not provided them with anywhere to go," she added.

Bollman said she hoped negotiations between Santaco, the Oceans Mall and eThekwini officials would yield positive results.

Oceans Mall had not responded to a News24 query at the time of publication.

Its response will be added once received.