KZN towing companies demand equal work opportunities

The South African Automobile Repairers and Salvage Association and Buy Black SA led a go-slow that caused traffic mayhem on the N2 between Isipingo - south of Durban and Umhlanga.

The association says a monopoly of white owned businesses currently get the lion's share of panel beating, towing and automobile repair work. The association's Wesley Douglas says that work should be equally distributed.

"There's a lot of black owned shops that have the ability to do the work - across the spectrum - even right up to supercars. But there isn't procurement. So the question isn't whether there's capacity to do the work, the question is why the work isn't arriving in black owned shops but instead in white monopoly shops. 

"The systems are in place, the distribution can be done but the problems we are having is that these are being used to exclude people rather than becoming equitable," he said.

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Meanwhile, Telesure has responded to today's protest action by saying it is committed to transformation and its support for black-owned motor-body repairers is not limited to specific associations. CEO of Telesure Investment Holdings Short-Term Insurance, Robyn Farrell says in KZN - and during 2016 alone - the company allocated more than 50% of authorised repairs to black-owned entities. 

Farrell says, like the rest of the insurance industry, they insist that vehicles are towed and repaired by those who adhere to stringent safety and quality requirements.

Protestors handed over a memorandum to Telesure.

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