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ARTHUR JABULANI (AJ) MTHEMBU – A VISIONARY MAN PAR EXCELLENCE BY SEPHOKA DAVID SEKGOBELA
Arthur Jabulani Mthembu, AJ, as affectionately known by everyone, is back by popular demand in the taxi industry, and this time as the Special Advisor to the current SANTACO President, Abner Tsebe. AJ Mthembu, together with other distinguished members of the taxi industry, namely Mandla Gcaba, Joe Sibanyoni, and James Chapman, is part of SANTACO President’s Consultative Forum (PCF), i.e. the body to advice SANTACO President and the National Executive Committee (NEC) on organizational and technical matters, and also to offer support to SANTACO’s Management Council (MANCO).
The word “ambitious” is definitely understatement if used to describe AJ Mthembu’s tenacity. It falls short to give full description of the capacity and capability of the man himself. Perhaps the word, “pioneer” could give effect closer to what the man is all about – “explorer”, “trailblazer”, and “discoverer”. AJ Mthembu’s capacity for inventive thought, keen intelligence, and quick understanding of the issues at stake, sets him head and shoulders above the rest. He is a leader par excellence. Something that distinguishes him from his peers, he has the rarest ability to use words or ideas in an amusing, clever, and imaginative way.
I personally met AJ Mthembu as President of SANTACO in 2006, and thus the man i need to talk about, i.e. in his capacity as SANTACO President, and subsequently in his capacity as the current Special Advisor to the current SANTACO President. I have dealt with the taxi industry over a long period – as way back as 1993, during the height of taxi violence. When i first met him, i was at awe, and never stopped imagining how far would the taxi industry go with someone like him at the helm, because in all languages, including sign language, AJ Mthembu was just extraordinary.
There are three scenarios that i place the minibus taxi industry in – the industry before AJ Mthembu, the industry during the reign of AJ Mthembu as SANTACO President, and the taxi industry after AJ Mthembu left. After he left SANTACO he moved on to make an indelible mark for himself within the agricultural sector, and his visionary leadership and business acumen saw him being appointed as President of African Farmers Association of South Africa (AFASA), the position he is currently holding. SANTACO’s loss was AFASA’s gain. As it stands, he is one of the trusted stakeholders and source of intelligence by the current Minister of Agriculture in the Government of National Unity (GNU), John Steenhuizen.
At AFASA, AJ worked closely with the then Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, now Speaker of the National Assembly, Thoko Didiza, on the development of Agriculture and Agro-Processing Master Plan (AAMP), Poultry Master Plan, and Cannabis Master Plan. He also spearheaded, together with the then President of the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO), Dr Theo De Jager, to bring WFO General Assembly to South Africa in 2023. His negotiation skills saw him negotiating to a logical win-win conclusion, a deal between Karan Beef Feedlot and Karan Beef (Pty) Ltd, and Triple A Meat (Pty) Ltd transaction with the Competition Commission.
It is however within the taxi industry where AJ showed his exceptional leadership qualities and traits. This is evident in a wide range of programmes that he initiated during his tenure, because before AJ Mthembu became SANTACO President, predicting what the taxi industry was heading to was the easiest thing to do – nowhere. The industry was marred by sporadic incidents of violence, and was on a downward trajectory due to mushrooming of taxi associations caused by splinter or breakaway groups from taxi associations, influx of more taxi vehicles into the market, including illegal taxis, that flooded the market, resulting in saturation of the taxi industry market and notable social ills related thereto – violence over lucrative routes, declining income, etc.
However, during the ambitious reign of AJ Mthembu, the minibus taxi industry that was on a free-fall mode, was elevated to another level, and going in one direction – up, because AJ and his team managed to put halt to all of those social ills that pinned the taxi industry down, and redirected the taxi industry into the right direction. His leadership qualities saw the minibus taxi industry becoming a force to be reckoned with. As an enterprising person and man of action, the highlight of AJ Mthembu at the helm of the taxi industry is not something that can be hidden.
AJ Mthembu is rightfully credited for ‘repositioning of the taxi industry in public passenger transport provisioning in South Africa’. He was the driving force behind the taxi industry’s TR3 2020 Strategy, which involved “Redefining, Restructuring and Repositioning” the taxi industry. I vividly remember everything, because i was personally invited to the launch of TR3 2020 and Taxi Training Academy.
The minibus taxi industry has through the TR3 2020 Strategy, i.e. the flagship that was to enable the taxi industry business to diversify into other transport modes and business enterprises through joint venture initiatives with taxi commodity suppliers and business in general, and to come up with the ways and means of bring the industry into the economic mainstream of the country. AJ Mthembu’s Presidency of SANTACO was in charge of that process.
From the invitation card to the launch of TR3 2020 Strategy, it is clear how AJ Mthembu valued modal integration, and progression of the taxi industry from the minibus taxi operators to airways, buses and rail concessioning, i.e. private ownership of rail operations, as well. His vision has always been that the minibus taxi industry could also diversify into other public transport modes. Public transport integration has been one of the most important aspects in government policy documents since 1994. Almost all transport policy documents have emphasizes the need for establishment of integrated and seamless intermodal public transport system. It is envisaged that modal integration will bring the taxi industry into the subsidy system, and thus assist in ensuring that passengers have access to affordable public transport.
During his tenure, it was clear where the taxi industry was heading. For instance, AJ Mthembu was hands-on involved with, inter alia, the following programmes:
• Amendment of SANTACO Constitution.
• Establishment of Women’s Desk SANTACO’s structures.
• Promotion of capacity building around relevant policy and legislation, and advocating for review of policy and legislative instruments negatively affecting the taxi industry.
• Launching of the Taxi Academy – Insistence on capacity building and/or skills development, because he understood that, “No empowerment process in or outside the taxi industry can be successful without appropriate institutionalization in and investment in human capital”. He realised that improved skills will not only have an immediate positive effect on the industry’s functioning, but will also facilitate many other aspects, such as reduction of violence and better communication with other stakeholders.
• Cementing and/or concretising the notion that taxi industry reform and restructuring require development of appropriate institutional and management structures and implementation thereof, inclusive of correct levels of support infrastructure, staffing, and capacity support through training and mentoring.
• Insistence that the taxi industry has to, inter alia:
– Operate along commercial lines, with individual members, groups and/or associations registering for business entities like close corporations, private companies, co-operatives, etc., and not operate informally like it was doing;
– Be managed by and employs well-trained and skilled people who would be rendering professional quality services;
– Have an acceptable labour practices; and
– Have excellent public and corporate image – good customer care, law abiding, improved road safety, etc.
• Establishment of SANTACO Express – Who can ever forget SANTACO Express airline? This was AJ Mthembu’s signature project whilst he was SANTACO President. Santaco Express airline was a proposed new low cost carrier operating a daily flight to Johannesburg, Bisho (in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa) and Cape Town at that time. In the picture, AJ Mthembu is flanked by former President of South Africa, GJ Zuma, and former Minister of Transport, Sbu Ndebele.
• Establishment of SANTACO business wing, namely SANTACO Trading (Pty) Ltd
• Introduction of Electronic Management System (EMS), in terms of which passengers would be making use of EMS for through-ticketing system that could be used across all public passenger transport modes – buses, trains, and taxis. In 2016, the minibus taxi industry introduced e-ticketing fare collection system. It was first rolled out in Pretoria.
• Taxi industry involvement in special economic and business initiatives of Government, such as the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme (TRP).
• Identification of and active involvement of the taxi industry, as opposed to being passive beneficiaries, in business opportunities within the entire transport value chain, including, inter alia, the following:
– Bus Contracts Tendering
– Advertising
– Insurance
– Buying and Leasing of Retail Outlets/Franchising
– Spares, batteries, and vehicle service centres
– Cleaning of vehicles (Washing Bays)
– Wheel, tyre and exhaust fitment centres
– Security
– Ownership or cleaning and maintenance of ranking facilities
– Vehicle supply dealerships
– Financing of taxi industry
– Fuel suppliers
– In-house taxi industry Insurance
The period marked by AJ Mthembu’s absence from the taxi industry is clearly recognizable by lack of implementation of some of his noble ideas mentioned above. Otherwise, SANTACO Express planes would be hovering up in the sky doing both national and international flights by now, and the entire taxi industry would have been corporatized by now, and probably be eligible for transport subsidy through the use of EMS. It is for that reason that his return to the taxi industry is met with excitement and appreciation. The expectation is that he would reconnect to where he left off some years ago, because it is always difficult to proceed with someone’s programmes without the actual involvement of the person who initiated them in the first place. It is further expected that the taxi industry would once again thrive and become a force to be reckoned with. Some of the programmes that were since abandoned would soon be resuscitated.
Having noted that the odds seem to be stacked against the taxi industry, AJ Mthembu is advising SANTACO President, not only to resume some of the progressive programmes that have since been abandoned or sidelined, but also to develop the survival or turnaround strategy that would fast-track the development of the minibus taxi industry, to enable it to occupy its rightful place alongside other public transport modes, namely buses and taxis. One of AJ Mthembu’s targets is to assist the taxi industry out of the overtraded taxi market and guides it through other business opportunities within the broader transport value chain, including subsidised bus sector, fuel retail outlets, insurance, spares, tyre and exhaust fitment centres, ownership and/or management of ranking facilities, etc.
He is lamenting that the taxi industry seems to be stuck in overtraded or saturated market, which does not have much to offer, but only a brooding ground for taxi violence and strive. It has been established that SMMEs, including the minibus taxi industry, are a source of new job creation in most successful economies of the world. He is of the view that the taxi industry could indeed do better if individual members diversify into other forms of business or SANTACO itself creates an enabling environment within which members of the taxi industry could be beneficiaries out of the business initiatives of TaxiChoice, the business wing of SANTACO, and he is going to advise that the playing field be adequately levelled to provide an atmosphere of free and fair competition. Most of all, due to Implementation Gap phenomenon, i.e. lack of implementation of identified programmes, AJ is eager to develop anew Implementation Plan that would outline in clear and unambiguous terms the activities that would be undertaken to attain the desired objectives to drive economic empowerment within the minibus taxi industry before execution of the programmes.
THE MINIBUS TAXI INDUSTRY RE-IMAGINED – FROM DISPAIR AND HOPELESSNESS TO PROSPERITY AND SUCCESS WITH JOE SIBANYONI BY SEPHOKA DAVID SEKGOBELA
The image of the taxi industry has been battered in many fronts by negative factors such as violence and poor road safety record. However, after years of downward trajectory due to a myriad of factors beyond its control, the taxi industry is finally embarking upon the process for renewal and/or improvement of its corporate image for 2025 and beyond. A wish is that, 2025 will yield better results for all members of the taxi industry in terms of prosperity and success. The year 2024, and the recent past years, have indeed been terrible for most people across all economic sectors, and the taxi industry seems to have been the hardest hit.
The industry is emerging from an era of overtraded market, limited business opportunities, violence over the so-called lucrative routes, leading to despondence and hopelessness, especially after Covid-19. Very few people remained unaffected by the economic hardships that characterized the years after Covid-19. COVID-19 pandemic further revealed the painful persistence of South Africa’s apartheid racially based economy. It laid bare South Africa’s legacy of underdevelopment and the country’s ongoing realities of poverty and inequality.
However, how one perceives and interprets socio-economic and political landscape, affects his response to issues at stake and outlook towards the future. Not much could be done about the past, but the future is what one makes of it. It is one’s choice whether one foresees darkness or light. According to Dr Martin Seligman’s theory of “Positive Psychology”, one cannot afford to lose hope, because once you lose hope, you would then have lost everything.
Optimism pays off. There is a direct link between optimism and success. Optimism amid adversity grows one’s results. Although changing attitudes is not easy, “positive attitude improves concentration, fewer mental errors, better memory and learning”. There is a saying that, “if you do not think that you can change or be world-class, then you won’t take the steps needed to change, and be world class, because human beings just never rise higher than their self-identity”. It all starts in the mind.
What Raymond Ackerman said in 1976 is still relevant even today, “I’m not as gloomy about the prospects as most people are, and i feel quietly confident that we are going to ride the storm” – from Raymond Ackerman’s 1976 diary. The PnP success story of Raymond Ackerman is common knowledge.
The important socio-economic role that the taxi industry plays is often overshadowed by ugly scenes of violence and protests that lead to unnecessary loss of life and disruption of the economy respectively. It is in the best interest of everyone within the taxi industry to have a united, vibrant and economically healthy and self-sustainable industry that would assume its rightful place alongside other modes of public transport, namely buses and trains.
It is also the wish of everyone to see the taxi industry that would be speaking in one voice, as opposed to the situation where there are always conflicts and opposing views on cross-cutting issues. However, despite negative perceptions that deteriorated its image, and lack of financial support in the form of direct subsidy by the government, the taxi industry remains a rough gem that needs to be polished, as it continues to convey more passengers than both buses and trains combined.
Leading the taxi industry out of the doldrums and turmoil of the past needs visionary leadership that would be tough on targets, but soft on people. The taxi industry is indeed facing serious challenges, and indeed on downward spiral. So many things are happening – the sand is rapidly shifting beneath the feet of taxi operators, as the taxi industry market is being eroded in all fronts by technological innovations such as e-hailing. As a result thereof, members of the taxi industry are understandably agitated. The future is uncertain and bleak. However, with strong leadership, the tables could be turned around for the better.
That is where real leadership should speak to those anxieties and fears, and allays those fears, assuages anxiety. When a leader is able to remain positive during difficult times, he encourages confidence in other members of the organisation as well, to remain effective and steadfast at the most crucial times. Great leaders have effective communication and listening skills, inspire, empower, motivate and encourage others to unlock their full potential and become greater.
The performance of any organisation is directly related to the quality of its leadership. Leaders are born, not made. There is however the negating fact that, leadership is not an exclusive club for those who are “born with it”. While leadership relies on some inherited characteristics, it also depends on skills development and experience, and indeed many of the traits and abilities that are raw materials of leadership can be acquired through training.
Focusing objectively on the goodness of a man with a vision to lead the taxi industry, who is able and capable to drive the taxi industry to new heights, it is none other than the new sheriff in town, Mr Joe Sibanyoni, the Executive Chairperson of Taxi Choice, the business wing of SANTACO, a community builder of note, with many accolades on his belt. Joe Sibanyoni, is also the Executive President of Joe Sibanyoni Foundation (JSF). The statement on JSF website says it all, “We believe in a South Africa where every citizen has the opportunity to thrive. JSF is guided by the legacy of Mr Joe Sibanyoni (Our Executive President) who dedicated his entire life to uplifting marginalized communities and empowering black owned businesses. We focus on critical areas such as Infrastructure Development, Enterprise Development, Empowerment and Enablement, Education and crucial elements of human dignity”. The real beneficiaries of JSF are the ones who can amply testify about the generosity of the man himself, and how helpful has he been to them.
Joe Sibanyoni is, together with other distinguished members of the taxi industry, namely Mandla Gcaba, AJ Mthembu, and James Chapman, part of SANTACO President’s Consultative Forum (PCF), i.e. the body tasked, in terms of SANTACO Constitution, to advice SANTACO President and the National Executive Committee (NEC) on organizational and technical matters, and also to offer support to SANTACO’s Management Council (MANCO). These are individuals who are equal to the task. The Constitution provides that PCF members should have “knowledge, skills, and abilities”.
As the saying goes, a leader with a vision is a very powerful leader. Having met Mr Sibanyoni, i have no doubt that, under his stewardship, the taxi industry will survive the odds stacked against it, as he is driving it into the right direction. His mission is to help as many people as possible within and outside the taxi industry. At the base of outstanding performance in business, and life itself, lies a strong character. Key leadership skills are relative, as different people have different views of what leadership attributes and traits a leader should possess. There is no time to immerse oneself in negative narratives.
Though people do not look at and/or look through the same lenses to see the same thing in others, Mr Sibanyoni came out to me like someone who relatively meets Michael Pegg’s 10 Cs, i.e. the characteristics of compelling leadership:
Charismatic
Caring
Committed
Crystal Clear
Communicative
Consistent
Creative
Competent
Courageous
He does indeed possess all of the above leadership traits, and more. Studies have revealed that most successful business and sportspeople like Steve Jobs, Kobe Bryant, Roger Federer, Zuckerberg, etc. rose above the equation due to their inner strengths and resilience. As an astute negotiator, Mr Sibanyoni has come out as someone who is simply determined to bring about innovation and change in order to turn around the negative image and perception of the taxi industry for the benefit of all members of the taxi industry. Negotiation is an essential management skill, and the process of arriving at mutual satisfaction through discussion and bargaining with another party.
At Taxi Choice, Mr Sibanyoni will be taking the lead to bridge the gap between formulating plans and reaching objectives for the taxi industry. In other words, he would play a key role in translating SANTACO’s strategic plans and the taxi industry Lekgotla’s resolutions into reality. As the saying goes, “first impression lasts long”. What i liked the most about his demeanour is the ability to listen and intention to make it possible that everyone, including one-taxi vehicle owner-driver, i.e. the start-up entrepreneur who gave up his luxuries and salary-paying job to launch uncertain dream of becoming a taxi operator, also has great opportunities within the broader public transport value chain. He is a family man who resists many social obligations to spend peak-quality time with his family for the benefit of everyone within the taxi industry.
Leadership is the ability to present a vision in such a way that others will want to achieve it. It is about winning the respect, confidence, loyalty and willing co-operation of everyone involved. Leadership can be defined from a management perspective as “influencing and directing the behaviour of individuals and groups in such a way that they work willingly to pursue the objectives and goals of the organisation”. The success or downfall of an organisation can be attributed to a specific leader. Dr Anton Rupert, for example, turned the Rembrandt group into an international business empire. Likewise, Raymond Ackerman of PnP established what became the biggest retail operation in South Africa.
Mr Sibanyoni realises that he has to make some strides to get epic results. He is acutely aware that for the taxi industry to be relentless and display the grit needed to stay in business, and remain loyal to the industry’s vision long after the initial inspiration has vanished, members of the taxi industry have to keep learning each day, and optimizing their individual performances. They should remain focused, centred and devoted in the face of inevitable ridicule, because we live in a world that does not value the development of willpower so much, and people do not like to see others rise, as it threatens their security, and spotlights their low self-worth. The taxi industry has been the subject of ridicule for some time.
To realise the objectives that he has set for himself for the success of the taxi industry, Mr Sibanyoni is vowing to immediately create his “To Do” and “Stop Doing” lists for the taxi industry, because there are things that should definitely do, and those that should not continue to be done. Albert Einstein describes insanity as “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. Mr Sibanyoni would be looking, inter alia, mainly into the following activities (not in any order of preference):
• Identifying immediate skills development gaps at all levels within the taxi industry, and work towards improvement thereof.
• Identifying and negotiating for business opportunities within the transport value chain.
• Optimizing on the taxi industry’s bulk-buying power.
• Negotiating for transport subsidy for the taxi industry and/or subsidised bus contracts.
• Taxi Recapitalisation Programme.
• Improving the relationship with the authorities across the spectrum, including law enforcement agencies, Provincial Regulatory Entities (PREs), etc.
In conclusion, it is also the government’s wish to see the taxi industry taking its rightful position alongside the other public transport service providers in the provision of reliable, safe, comfortable, effective, efficient, and sustainable public transport system. Integration of public transport services in terms of which public transport service providers would be supplementing or complementing each other’s services for the attainment of the overall benefit of the travelling public is the ultimate objective. Success, mainly in business, is less about luck and more about character. The taxi industry would like to close the doors of violence and disunity behind it, lock itself out of decades of turmoil and strive, and enter into harmony, unity and prosperity, under the leadership of Taxi Choice Executive Chairperson, Mr Joe Sibanyoni.
JAMES CHAPMAN – GODFATHER OF THE TAXI INDUSTRY AS WE KNOW IT TODAY
BY SEPHOKA DAVID SEKGOBELA
James Chapman, together with other distinguished members of the taxi industry, namely Mandla Gcaba, Joe Sibanyoni, and AJ Mthembu, is part of SANTACO President’s Consultative Forum (PCF), i.e. the body to advice SANTACO President and the National Executive Committee (NEC) on organizational and technical matters, and also to offer support to SANTACO’s Management Council (MANCO). James Chapman is currently Interim Managing Director of Taxi Choice, the business wing of SANTACO.
If you ask ten people about someone, you will definitely get ten versions of the same character, because a person can indeed be a different character to different people. The same person can be a hero to some, and a villain to others. It all depends on your source of information, and whether you are going to be gullible enough to accept whatever you are being given as gospel truth. Fortunately, i am going to talk about someone that i know personally, and i am not going to need anyone to compliment or supplement what i am going to say about James Chapman. I am fortunate to have known him in a professional relation for almost 30 years. I was once recruited by his late friend, Paul Browning, to join his consulting business, an offer which i had to humbly turn down, because James Chapman’s interest had always been narrowed down to the taxi industry, whilst i, from my consumer background, was casting my interests a bit wider across the entire transport spectrum, including bus, rail, aviation, and maritime.
It is therefore good to talk about someone that you know, because you do not have to rely on anyone or external information to tell you whom the person is, or, at most, you would not be lied to by anyone. You rely on first-hand and personal information about the person. There is a saying that, “Ignorance is bliss”, but there is honestly nothing blissful about ignorance. It is being said that, “Everything has a cost, but not as compared to ignorance, which is more costly”. Thus why Sri Chinmoy wrote, “Ignorance is an enemy, even to its owner. Knowledge is a friend, even to its hater”. Hence, anyone who is in the taxi industry, but still does not know James Chapman, is not only ignorant, but is definitely in the wrong industry, because no one can afford not to know who James Chapman is, the man who has done so much for the taxi industry.
Thus how i feel about James Chapman – a sharp-witted businessman, whose business acumen is known by all and sundry, whom i can confidently rate his negotiating skills to the level that he can give poison to a rat, and the rat still asks for some more of it. He could sell sand to the Arabs. Thus how good he is in his game – always calm, cool, and collected. James Chapman and the minibus taxi industry are synonymous, because his entire life is intrinsically linked to the history of the taxi industry in South Africa, especially since the de facto deregulation of the minibus taxi industry in the late eighties. Simply put, if you do not know James Chapman, it means that you also do not know the minibus taxi industry intimately, but just superficially. I have personally known James Chapman in good times and equally in bad times in as far as the minibus taxi industry is concerned. He has never abandoned the taxi industry in his consulting or advisory role. He has been through thick and thin with individual members of the minibus taxi industry – crying with those who were going through difficult times, and rejoicing with those who had reasons to rejoice. He has seen almost everything – the good, the bad, and the ugly of the minibus taxi industry.
As a consultant for the taxi industry, James Chapman always had the best intention about his clients, i.e. members of the minibus taxi industry. His late friend and a colleague, Mr Paul Browning, first coined the phrase “Black Economic Empowerment” in his 1989 book, “Black Economic Empowerment: Shaping South African Business for the 21st Century”. They always viewed the minibus taxi industry as the flagship for black economic empowerment.
It is not unusual to hear people talking about or reminiscing about the good old days that they never had. However, i can vividly remember some of those rare days that could confidently be classified as “the good old days”, almost twenty-eight (28) years ago, when advises and/or life lessons were still freely offered, and not subsequently followed by invoices the following day, when James Chapman said to me, “David, in Afrikaans they say, ’as jy mengsel met die varke, die see sal jou opvreet’”. I looked at him astonishingly with awe, anxiously waiting for him to interpret what he had just said to me. He then asked Eric Wise to explain to me what did that mean, before he threw a Sunday newspaper that i had not yet seen. In the said newspaper, i was purportedly quoted for having said something that i never uttered myself. It was only them that i realised what James Chapman said, and that i should not have associated myself with dubious characters who would not mind writing press statements on my behalf without me knowing. That was a lifelong lesson that i am still thankful to James Chapman even today – be careful whom you associate yourself with, because there are people who are always dogged by misfortunes and scandals, to whom integrity and reputation do not count that much. If you associate yourself with them, you should not be taken aback if you are lumped together with them, especially for wrong reasons.
Love him or hate him, James Chapman is a taxi man by heart, or, perhaps i should refer to him as “James Taximan”, as opposed to his real name, James Chapman. I have personally learnt so much about James, especially when it comes to business. He is a loveable and approachable man, but can be shrewd or astute if he likes, especially when it comes to business. He is one person whose advice is revered by members of the taxi industry, because he never deserted them even when the days were dark. He stood by them.
James cut his teeth during the heydays of the South African Black Taxi Association (SABTA) with the likes of taxi pioneers like the late Jabu Mabuza, Joe Mabaso, Knox Matjila, etc. The current institutional arrangement of the taxi industry, where we see the taxi industry formalised into local taxi associations, regional taxi councils, provincial taxi councils, and ultimately the national taxi council, SANTACO, owes its credence to James Chapman’s ideas and influence within the public passenger transport sector. At some stage, especially the early years of the democratic dispensation after 1994, his dominating and towering figure was a nuisance to some of his peers within the transport sector. The Department of Transport was more willing to listen to what he had to say, something that earned the Department of Transport, to the annoyance of former Director-General of the Department of Transport, Mr Ketso Gordhan, the penname of “Department of Taxis”.
It is difficult to talk about formalisation, and regulation and control of the taxi industry without acknowledging the role that James Chapman played in his advisory role to the minibus taxi industry. I remember so vividly, as if it happened yesterday, that in one of the meetings that was held at the then Pretoria Hof Hotel in 1995, during the process for the review of the National Transport Policy, James Chapman, as a consultant to the taxi industry, led a walkout of the taxi industry. That brazen show of strength gave birth to what later came to be known as the National Taxi Task Team (NTTT), because the government commissioned a parallel process to deal effectively and efficiently with taxi related matters. Its main objective was “To investigate problems and issues within the taxi industry and to formulate solutions and/or policy options for recommendations to the National Minister/Ministerial Committee of Ministers of Transport (MINCOM) to ensure the short and long term sustainability of the industry so that it can play an equitable and competitive role in order to promote an effective and efficient public transport system.”
NTTT Final Recommendations were presented to the national Minister in August 1996 to be implemented as part of the taxi transformation processes. One of the main objectives of the main recommendations of the NTTT regarding the formalization of the taxi industry was to have democratically elected representative structures that would carry the mandate and aspirations of members of the taxi industry. Hence, flowing from the recommendations of the NTTT, the industry had been assisted to organize itself into local associations, regional/district, provincial, and national structures. At national level, there is the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO), which is comprised of provincial taxi councils, that are in turn made of the regional taxi councils, and then the local taxi associations at the lowest level of governance of the taxi industry. In short, formalization, regulation, and control of the transport industry, in particular the taxi industry, has its origin in the final recommendations of the NTTT, which was initiated by James Chapman and his team, and those recommendations were accepted by the government.
It is a pity that some of the best policy directives do not achieve the intended objectives, and thus end up falling by the wayside due to lack of commitment by the government to implement them, i.e. the so-called “policy-implementation gap” phenomenon. One such policy document that has been a casualty of the “policy-implementation gap” phenomenon, that has not been fully implemented despite all the good intentions and the efforts in formulating is, the NTTT Recommendations. If fully implemented, those recommendations would go a long way towards addressing most, if not all of the ills currently plaguing the taxi industry.
James Chapman has been advising the taxi industry that, there is a need for the government, in conjunction with all relevant stakeholders to develop in clear and unambiguous terms, regulation and control mechanism, such as a statutory body for the taxi industry, like it does happen with all other economic sectors. That would also tend to improve the corporate image of the industry as well. Hence it is befitting to refer to James Chapman as the Godfather of the minibus taxi industry, and I can personally vouch for that.
ABNER TSEBE’S LEADERSHIP WITH PURPOSE – AN EPITOME OF TAXI INDUSTRY PEACE, PROGRESS AND PROSPERITY BY SEPHOKA DAVID SEKGOBELA
INTRODUCTION
The taxi industry is indeed like a mixed bag of vegetables, a composite body comprising of a lot of individuals from divergent backgrounds – the good the bad, and the ugly. It would be grossly unfair to paint all members of the taxi industry with one brush, because the reality is that not everyone is uneducated, violent, and unreasonable.
Contrary to stereotyped prejudices and popular beliefs and myths by those who are not knowledgeable of the taxi industry, i.e. those who are peeping through the keyhole, and not aware of the actual situation within the taxi industry, not all members of the taxi industry are warlords and violent, because there are those who are themselves the embodiment of peace and stability.
The individual character is not necessarily shaped by the environment within which one is currently operating, but rather by one’s inherent background and upbringing. By the time one joins the business world, his cognitive and distinctive characteristics would have long been shaped for the good or the bad of an individual.
BACKGROUND
The entire public passenger transport, including the taxi industry, was hit hard by covid-19 restrictive regulations on travelling. Since the declaration of the National State of Disaster in March 2020, most of transport operators, including the taxi industry, have not been able to conduct any business or generate income in any way, because movements of people were restricted. However, their monthly financial obligations never ceased.
The majority of taxi operators have been under tremendous pressure, and experiencing serious economic hardships. Most of them were using vehicles that were still under finance, and needed to be paid on monthly basis regardless of Covid-19 lockdown. There were numerous relief funding and loans punted around, that were supposed to assist SMMEs during the economic meltdown due to Covid-19. However, the said relief funds were not necessarily accessible to everyone due to stringent qualifying criteria. Ever since Covid-19 economic meltdown, some members of the taxi industry are still struggling to stage a comeback. Some have had their taxi vehicles repossessed, and thus driven out of business.
SANTACO President, Motlhabane Abner Tsebe, is one of those people who cannot be honestly associated with violence or dishonesty. His genuine drive to professionalise the taxi industry should instead be supported in whatever way possible, because that is indeed attainable, if everyone puts his shoulder on the wheel. The name “Motlhabane”, says it all. Motlhabane means a fighter in Sepedi. This is however not in a violent manner, or, negative connotations, but rather meaning a protector, and in the current context, a protector that strives for continued existence and resilience of the taxi industry, in spite of economic hardships that threaten to consume into extinction the taxi industry as we know it today.
TAXI INDUSTRY RE-IMAGINED – RESHAPING CORPORATE IMAGE OF THE INDUSTRY
There are misguided beliefs and myths about the taxi industry that need to be dispelled. The taxi industry itself recognizes the fact that there is an urgent need to transform the taxi associations from their traditional practices into more corporate business entities with management systems to ensure efficient and continuously improved service to its customers through business partnerships with other public transport modes like buses.
A lot still needs to be done to persuade people to see the taxi industry in the right manner, not only because they do not have the alternative public transport, but mainly due to the goodwill and esteemed corporate image of the taxi industry. The minibus taxi industry has unfortunately been perceived as the high-risk kind of business. This means that the industry needs to do more in improving its corporate image, particularly in the field of road safety.
How do you change the corporate image of the taxi industry that was battered by years of poor road safety record, illegality, strive and turmoil? Amidst all the negative perceptions, it is not all doom and gloom, because the taxi industry does indeed have a very good story to tell as well. It however needs good storytellers to relate it in clear and unambiguous terms. As the saying goes, “Until the lion has his or her own storyteller, the hunter will always have the best part of the story”. The taxi industry needs to give a good account of itself.
Besides the odds being stacked against it, the corporate image or public relations of the taxi industry has been dented and subjected to a lot of ridicule, and it is about time that the taxi industry should strive to attain its rightful place alongside other public transport service providers like buses and trains.
Some stories are better and hilarious if related in the languages that the events took place. Some stories, including jokes, lose a gist of their meaning once translated to other languages, including English. For instance, almost twenty-eight years ago, when on my way to a taxi operators’ training camp somewhere in the Northwest Province, i gave a lift to one lady that was going to Rustenburg along the N4, near Marikana and/or Mooinooi. I was driving from Pretoria to Zeerust in the wee hours of the morning. Before i could even introduce myself, the lady asked me where was i going that early in the morning. I responded that i was going to Zeerust, because i was involved in a project to train taxi operators on a variety of issues – Customer Care, Basic Management Skills, Current Legislation, etc. The lady’s response left an indelible mark in my mind, something that got stuck into my mind ever since. Her response was something like, “Waayii!!, o na le nako ya go tshameka. O tlo tsoga bosigo bo bokana for taxi people? A mme tota boratekisi ba treinega?” What she really meant was that, “can you really wake up that that early to go and train taxi people? Are they even trainable, to start with?” However, it is the way she asked, and her sheer disbelief that anyone could do that that got stuck in my mind ever since. When i related the story to the taxi delegates when i arrived in Zeerust, to my surprise and dismay, they all bursted into laughter. I was hoping that they would be concerned about poor corporate image of the taxi industry, and how we could work towards improving it, because that was a matter of concern to me.
SANTACO President, Abner Tsebe, is the man to lead the unity and renewal process for the taxi industry, in conjunction with his leadership circle and management. This man of peace has to pull the taxi industry out of the doldrums of the past into the new Damascus. The Damascus moment in anyone’s lifetime is, “an epiphany or a turning point in your life. It comes from the Apostle Paul who converted to Christianity after Jesus appeared to him in a beam of light in Damascus. Before this, he had prosecuted Christians and the Damascus event was the turning point of his life”.
The concept, “Taxi Industry Re-Imagined”, is not just about sloganeering, but a genuine effort to move the taxi industry out of economic stagnation to future economic prospects within the entire transport value chain in which individual members of the taxi industry would also be part of the future economic prosperity. This is the time to change, and time for all members of the taxi industry to collaborate and rally behind their elected taxi leadership, or else perish as divided enemies.
The minibus-taxi industry in particular is infamous for its overloading trend, with passengers cramped inside no breathing space for passengers. This trend does not auger well with the notion of promoting the corporate image of the industry. A suitable minibus- taxi will thus provide:
SANTACO PRESIDENT TO LEAD TAXI INDUSTRY SURVIVAL STRATEGY IN 2025
The minibus taxi industry has lost a bigger chunk of its market to illegal 4+1 operations, e-hailing, lift clubs and shuttle services, to mention but a few. The situation as it currently is within the taxi industry is what one could term, “survival of the fittest”, as everyone seems to be “struggling for existence”, “battling to endure”, “competing for life”, “contending for survival”, “warring for existence”, or, “fighting for survival”. These are some of the expressions that highlight the dire and challenging circumstances that individual taxi operators face daily in order to survive and thrive in this cutthroat industry. Such desperate situations call for “resilience, perseverance, and adaptability”, and those who can overcome the odds are often admired and revered for their tenacity and courage. However, most of all, the taxi industry needs strong and decisive leadership to pull it through or make ends meet, and those seem to be the enviable qualities that SANTACO President wields in abundance – “resilience, perseverance, and adaptability”.
SANTACO President has noted with dismay that Apartheid systematically and purposefully restricted the majority of South Africans, Africans in particular, from meaningful participation in the economic mainstream of the country, resulting in an economic structure that still excludes the vast majority of South Africans from the disadvantaged background even today. Africans have always been and still are at the bottom of the pile in terms of socio-economic opportunities.
The manner in which procurement for transport contracts is being carried out across the spectrum in the country, SMME bus and taxi operators do not have an equitable opportunity to participate in the mainstream of the South African economy due to anti-competitive conducts. It is expected that the government at all levels, including government institutions and parastatals should promote greater spread of business opportunities, in particular to increase the ownership stakes of historically disadvantaged persons.
It is for that reason that SANTACO President has in his radar for the year 2025 undue monopoly of current subsidized bus transport contracts that smack of unfair and corrupt underhand dealings, and he needs them to be thoroughly investigated and/or challenged. The current subsidised bus contracts system favour the existing beneficiaries who are unduly dominating the subsidised bus sector market, to the exclusion of SMME bus and taxi operators from the disadvantaged background to successfully enter the market.
He is of the view that public transport subsidy should not be used to entrench further economic inequalities, and the government should be actively and/or directly involved in facilitating the immediate entry of suitably qualified and deserving SMME bus and taxi entrepreneurs into the economic mainstream of the country through procurement reforms and other related activities instead of perpetuating economic inequality.
CONCLUSION
The taxi industry has been through thick and thin, and it needs to keep the wolf from its door, lest it be left out of new developments or driven into extinction. Besides intensified fighting for transport subsidies in 2025, erosion of the taxi market through the advent and prevalence of e-hailing and shuttle services within the hospitality sector are some of the threats that the taxi industry has to deal with effectively and efficiently. To escape or cheat death for the taxi industry, these challenges need seasoned leadership of someone like Abner Tsebe, who would be leading from the front to keep the taxi industry’s body and soul together, or, keep its head above the water.
Annexure: An official document issued by the National Department of Transport Board, which accompanies and corresponds with operating licence, which describes the different routes allocated to a specific taxi association.
Association: A local organization body whereby taxi operator’s pays membership fee to join, in order to operate their taxi vehicle on such organization’s routes
Board Validation: A process of verifying operating licence with the board.
Charter Service: An official public permit issued by the National Department of Transport Board, which gives drivers the permission to transport people for public gain, but only for scheduled trips, organised trips, meter taxi, scholar transportation, and special events
Cross- border OL: An official public permit issued by the National Department of Transport Board, which gives taxi drivers permission to transport people for public gain, from South Africa to other African countries.
F & I Manager: Finance and Insurance Manager at the dealership who processes credit application on behalf of the Taxi operator to the bank.
Grant Letter: An official letter issued by the National Department of Transport Board, which grants taxi drivers permission to transport people for public gain, for a period less than three months.
OLAS receipt: An official receipt issued by the National Department of Transport Board, which indicates that a person has applied any of the following: New operating licence, Transfer of operating licence, Conversion of permit into operating licence, Replacement of vehicle or Amendments of routes etc.
Operating Licence (OL): An official public permit issued by the National Department of Transport Board, which gives taxi drivers permission to transport people for public gain, for a period longer than 5 years.
Not Usable OL: A state where an operating licence is invalid/inactive to be used to buy taxi vehicle, e.g. it has expired.
Not Verified OL: A state where an operating licence is not yet verified/ validated with the board.
Midibus: Means a motor vehicle designed or modified solely or principally for conveying more than 16 but not more than 35 persons, including the driver and for the purpose of the National Road Traffic Act.
Minibus: Means a motor vehicle designed or modified solely or principally for conveying more than nine but not more than 16 seated persons including the driver.
Minibus taxi type service: Means an unscheduled public transport service operated on specific route or route or where applicable within a particular area by mean of a motor car, minus or midibus.
Podium: An assessment document that bank sent to dealer/client stipulating outcomes of different stages of
Route: The waypoints or destinations that the taxi operates travel upon. It is the route approved by the department of transport that a particular taxi travel on for purpose of transporting fare paying passengers.
Route Calculator: Taxichoice statistical calculation of a route profitability.
Route form: A form completed by F& I and signed by client, which shows waypoints (routes) that the client will operate with the new taxi.
Temporary Licence: An official public permit temporarily issued by the National Department of Transport Board, which gives taxi drivers permission to transport people for public gain, for a period shorter than 1 year.
Usable OL: A state where an operating licence is valid / active to be used to purchase a taxi vehicle.
Verified OL: A state where the operating license status has been updated or confirmed.
