Residents describe stress as taxis block Port Shepstone roads
Residents caught up in Thursday's taxi blockade in Port Shepstone have described the experience as stressful.
"When lunchtime came, the children were coming out of school, parents were freaking out, they couldn't get hold of their kids, they couldn't get near the schools. My daughter comes out at 14:00. I managed to fetch her at 16.55 and when I got there, there were grade Rs crying and hungry, missing their parents,” said local business owner Mark Cooks.
Taxi operators on the south coast blocked several roads in anger over the police's anti-crime initiative, Operation Shanela.
They claim the Transport Department is refusing to grant them permits for their vehicles.
ALSO READ: Port Shepstone roads reopen after taxi blockade
Cooks says they couldn't get into town and to schools in the area.
“All the businesses in Port Shepstone, the local groceries and everyone around us. They blockade from robot to robot, people had no access to town the local hospitals and schools were barricaded."
Makhosi Ngubane, a mother, says she was stuck for hours on one route.
"Trucks and taxis were in the middle of the road, preventing drivers to pass through. I sat in my car anxiously, worried about my children in school, hours later police finally came and spoke to them, then they moved and we able to pass."
Last week, scholar transporters in Pietermaritzburg took to the streets over a similar issue.
Police impounded vehicles found with no operating permits in Unit BB and 14 in Imbali.
Find us on social media
Follow the ECR Newswatch WhatsApp channel here
MORE ON ECR
