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The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) is not happy about the latest impoundment of minibus taxis and has vowed to approach the courts to interdict the City of Cape Town.

Taxi officials under Santaco were on Monday locked in urgent talks after 14 taxis were impounded over the weekend by the City despite an agreement in place to end the impoundment of taxis for minor offences.

Santaco staged an eight-day strike earlier this month against the City impounding dozens of vehicles over a range of infractions, including number plates not being displayed, taxi operators claimed.

Santaco insiders told News24 that the association was not happy with the latest impoundments, but quickly dismissed claims of possible strike action.

Santaco secretary Ryno Saaiers said on Monday evening that the council's provincial executive committee mostly covered internal issues.

"The impoundments of the weekend, where vehicles were impounded under cases not covered under the agreement, were discussed," he said.

Part of the agreement was that the Minibus Taxi Task Team - made up of representatives from the City, the Western Cape government and Santaco - must finalise a list of major and minor offences for which vehicles can either be impounded or fined.

The task team is scheduled to meet on Tuesday without Santaco after the council requested a postponement.

"This was needed to allow the leadership to engage with the members as to what precisely was agreed upon in the agreement with the government," Saaiers said.

He added that a court intervention would be explored.

"Court intervention on issues of the dispute between the parties was tabled, and it was agreed that this option should still be explored," he said.

Western Cape MEC of Mobility Ricardo Mackenzie told News24 on Tuesday: "Santaco Western Cape sent a request yesterday for this meeting to be rescheduled as they need to engage the primary associations regarding the impoundments of the past weekend. We are in the process of identifying a new date for the task team meeting."

South Africa's unemployment rate decreased to 32.6% in the second quarter, from 32.9% in the first quarter, Statistics South Africa's data shows.

The latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) shows that the number of employed persons increased by 154 000 to 16.3-million in the second quarter, while the number of unemployed persons decreased by 11 000 to 7.9-million.

The youth remain vulnerable in the labour market, with the second-quarter QLFS showing that the total number of unemployed youth between the ages of 15 and 34 decreased by 131 000 to 4.7-million, while there was an increase of 105 000 in the number of employed youth to 5.7-million. This resulted in a 1.1 percentage point decrease in youth unemployment to 45.3% in the second quarter.

The Presidency has shot down Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis's threat to declare an intergovernmental dispute if President Cyril Ramaphosa does not respond to a request to create a joint working committee on rail devolution by the end of August.

On Monday, Hill-Lewis said the lack of a functional passenger rail system was severely felt in Cape Town during the recent taxi strike.

Tens of thousands of commuters were left stranded as taxis across the Western Cape stopped running for eight days.

Bus services were also severely curtailed for safety reasons as striking taxi drivers targeted operating bus drivers.

In some instances, commuters were forced to walk as far as 30 kilometres to get to work and home.

On Monday, Hill-Lewis urged Ramaphosa to convene the "joint working committee on passenger rail devolution".

"We have urged the president to respond by 31 August to our request for a joint working committee on passenger rail devolution, failing which, we will resort to intergovernmental dispute mediation," the mayor warned.

He added that passenger rail should be the backbone of the city's transportation network.

"But [the rail network] has all but collapsed while Prasa (Passenger Rail Agency of SA) refuses to be held accountable for improving service levels to the public. All spheres of government have a duty to fix this situation without delay," he said.

"A joint working committee on devolution is especially important, given the national transport director-general's public commitment to gazetting a rail devolution strategy within 2023. The City wants to provide input to this national strategy and settle plans to devolve rail in Cape Town. Unfortunately, our request for a joint committee has been gathering dust on the president's desk for more than two months now, which is not a situation we are prepared to tolerate," he added.

The City has been pushing to take over the management of rail services in the metro for some time.

But Ramaphosa's spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told News24 the Presidency didn't "respond to threats in this regard".

"We would rather deal with matters through processes in a constructive manner. The mayor can exercise his prerogative as he sees fit, and we will respond accordingly through due process," he said.

In May last year, Cabinet passed the White Paper on National Rail Policy, which commits to devolving rail to capable metros and producing a rail devolution strategy in 2023.

Fast-forward to May this year, when newly appointed Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga told the media that there were no plans to devolve rail to the City.

Earlier this year, Chikunga's predecessor, Fikile Mbalula, declined to form a working committee, confirming in a letter to Hill-Lewis that his department "has not been given a directive by the government and I to start with any form of devolution".

As political parties prepare to sit for the "historic" Muti-Party National Convention on Wednesday and Thursday, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen said on Monday that the event is a major milestone, and an opportunity that should not be wasted.

He stressed that the convention should not be just an anti-African National Congress (ANC) project, but that it must be a pro-South African project.

Steenhuisen assured citizens that his party would continue to act in good faith and in the spirit of cooperation and he stressed his hope that political parties would leave the convention with an agreement on how parties could work together to fix the problems plaguing the country.

The Independent South African National Civic Organisation (Isanco) became the seventh party that will attend the Convention. Isanco broke away from the ANC alliance in 2021 owing to its failure to address corruption.

The DA, Inkatha Freedom Party, Freedom Front Plus, ActionSA, United Independent Movement and the Spectrum National Party will be attending the Convention.

Steenhuisen said leaders must ensure that the Convention inaugurates a new Pact government in 2024 that will rescue South Africa.

The Convention will be independently chaired by the respected Professor William Gumede.

"While the National Convention represents a major milestone, it is also an opportunity we dare not squander. The Moonshot Pact has captured the public imagination like no other opposition project has ever done in the history of our democracy. We dare not mess it up now," he said.

He noted that parties involved in this process had already made some progress towards a minimum joint programme of action.

Last week the Pact reached out to civil society organisations, inviting them to provide inputs on how political parties could make a success out of the Convention.

Steenhuisen noted that if the political parties involved in the Convention emerged with an agreement on Thursday, the Pact hoped to engage civil society with an eye to holding a subsequent joint Summit between the Pact and civil society organisations.

The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) has put an end to its industrial action with immediate effect, following a meeting with the City of Cape Town to find amicable solutions that address Santaco's grievances arising from the municipality's new by-laws, such as impoundment for driving unroadworthy vehicles, and driving without a licence or visible number plates.

The taxi strike has been marked by violence, resulting in deaths and the destruction of property.

The Department of Transport, on Friday, welcomed the end of the strike and stressed the need for the rule of law to be upheld, ensuring the smooth functioning of public transportation systems. The Department will actively follow any developments arising from further discussions within the 14-day turnaround time set in place.

Within this time, a taxi task team will come up with a list of major offences that should result in impoundment and of minor offences for which fines should be issued.

"The Minister and the government deeply regret the adverse effects the strike has had on learners, workers, and all those affected in Cape Town and its surrounding areas. The disruption caused by the impasse has had a negative effect on the local economy, and the Minister acknowledges the challenges faced by individuals who rely on public transportation for their daily activities," said Department spokesperson Monageng Mokgojwa.

The City of Cape Town expressed its appreciation for the constructive approach taken by Santaco but decried the implications the strike has had in terms of the destruction of lives, property and the local economy. They opined that Santaco gained nothing from the strike, noting that they had accepted the same proposal that the municipality originally set forth a week ago.

"It is time for Santaco and for all South Africans to take to heart the lesson from the past week: violence will get us nowhere. While we deplore the impact of this entirely unnecessary strike, Cape Town has set an important precedent for South Africa's future. By steadfastly refusing to capitulate before violence and anarchy, Cape Town has not conceded an inch on our commitment to the rule of law. The message is clear: in Cape Town, the laws of this country apply equally to everyone and violence will not extract a single concession from this government," argued Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.

The South African Communist Party (SACP) has commended the leadership demonstrated in resolving the strike and advocated for the arrival at a decision that considered the interests of the working class.

"In the course of the strike, lives, livelihoods and wages were needlessly lost, and both public and private property was damaged. Although this resolution has come at a later stage than we would have wanted, it is better late than never. The strike demonstrated that we are all interconnected, even across divides of race and class. Even though it was the working class who suffered the most, the taxi strike interrupted the supply chain to the extent that all citizens in the Western Cape felt the ripple effect," said SACP provincial secretary Benson Ngqentsu.

The SACP has also called for a Public Transport Indaba to be held within three months to address the structural challenges facing the public transport system.

Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Transport has welcomed Santaco's agreement with the Western Cape government and urged the municipality not to renege and make unilateral statements. The Committee opined that the new agreement would greatly assist commuters and implored stakeholders to consider the painful consequences of the strike, especially for poor people.

"Everything possible should be done to make sure that there is certainty in the taxi industry, especially because so many people in townships rely on effective taxi services for commuting between workplaces and their homes, as well as learners who attend school in town," said Transport Portfolio chair Mina Lesoma.

The taxi industry will now be required to give 36 hours' notice of strike action, according to a resolution that ended the week-long taxi stayaway in Cape Town.

On Friday morning, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis briefed the media on the resolution in the presence of SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) representatives.

The agreement, which mirrors one proposed last Friday, includes an "escalation system that will loop in the premier and mayor should a dispute arise", Winde said. He said this would provide "another layer before we end in strike action".

The agreement allows for the impoundments under the National Land Transportation Act (NLTA) to continue for vehicles driving without operating licences, on the incorrect route, when the drivers are not licensed, or when the vehicles are not roadworthy.

In the next 14 days, the taxi task team will draw up a list of major offences for which vehicles can be impounded and minor offences for which fines will be issued.

Santaco first deputy chairperson Nceba Enge said he hoped the taxi task team sessions would be fruitful but added that 14 days were not enough to sort out "some of the issues on the table".

During the briefing on Friday, Hill-Lewis said the focus would remain on commuter safety.

In terms of the agreement, Santaco will be able to query impoundments for minor offences, and representations will be made to a prosecutor to support the release of the vehicles.

Despite coming to an agreement the night before, members of the delegation took the opportunity to throw barbs at each other during Friday's meeting.

Both Hill-Lewis and City of Cape Town mayoral committee member for Transport Rob Quintas said they felt the strike could have ended days ago because the agreement was almost identical to the one proposed last week.

"It feels like there was an unnecessary extension," Hill-Lewis said.

Western Cape Mobility MEC Ricardo Mackenzie said the talks had further fallen apart when "guns were brought to a meeting" on Sunday.

Enge said the stayaway had been prompted by alleged heavy-handedness from law enforcement authorities during a traffic operation last week.

He said that an urgent meeting had been called between stakeholders at the time, which Mackenzie denied being invited to.

Enge also said Santaco had walked out of taxi task team meetings in July because "nothing had been achieved" in five months - something Mackenzie also disputed.

Enge again called for the City to cease the impoundment of taxis, saying that operators had had their vehicles repossessed as a result of the impoundments.

Mackenzie said Santaco expected the authorities to agree to things "that are not acceptable".

"It's a pity your vehicle is impounded, but if an operator gives his vehicle to a drunk driver and expects a traffic officer to look away. I'm sorry, but there is not a government in the world that will agree to that" he said.

Enge estimated that the industry had lost around R50-million in revenue per day due to the strike.

Five people died in strike-related violence and infrastructure worth millions of rand was damaged.

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen said on Friday that the new policy by President Cyril Ramaphosa which has allowed Jacob Zuma to go free has shown that the African National Congress (ANC) membership card is "your best defence" against the rule of law and accountability in the country.

The DA leader was responding to the announcement by government that former President Zuma will not be wearing an orange jumpsuit, as he was released from jail on Friday morning, after spending less than two hours there.

Ramaphosa approved a special remission for non-violent offenders, due to prison overcrowding. Zuma was released as part of the special remission, which will see 9 488 inmates being released, as well as a further 15 000 inmates who are currently under correctional supervision and parole.

Steenhuisen, who was in the Free State to select a DA Premier candidate for the upcoming 2024 elections, said the decision to set Zuma free was an insult to all South Africans who uphold the rule of law.

The DA leader said the remission policy was designed to ensure that Zuma once again escapes accountability for his acts of omission and commission in South Africa.

"Once again the president's spineless nature to stand up for what is right, his inability to protect the people over party has been on full display. What has happened sets a fundamentally terrible precedent for South Africa and it means all card-carrying members of the ANC, including people like Ace Magashule, are no longer accountable in the South African system," Steenhuisen said.

He accused Zuma of being released under the false pretense of special remissions to cover for the "cynical manipulation of justice".

He said the confluence of coincidence was too strong to ignore and claimed that it was designed to ensure that Zuma did not spend any further time in jail.

Steenhuisen said the action was sly and devious behaviour that required a great deal of planning.

"The fact that this remission came into effect today, the very day that Zuma was to go back to jail and to be processed, is a clear indication of exactly what has occurred in South Africa. If it wasn't a new fundamental low in South Africa it would almost be a comedy of epic proportions," he added.

He said Ramaphosa disappointed every time he was required to stand up for the fundamental values of the rule of law, and came time to choose his responsibility and constitutional duty to the people of South Africa over the interests of the ANC.

Steenhuisen compared these actions, and inactions, to the work done by Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis who he said had worked hard to stand firm to the law and against thuggery during the violent taxi strike.

"You can burn tyres and wave as many placards in front of municipal offices, this government is beyond listening. The only language they will now understand, is the one that is translated to them through the ballot box and through the vote of every South African," said the DA leader.

He pleaded for all those who were eligible to vote to register to do so.

"The power in the next 12 months only lies with those who are registered to vote," he added.

Iran asked South Africa's government to support its "accelerated membership" of Brics, as the five-nation bloc prepares to hold a summit later this month.

"We hope to obtain the opportunity of accelerated membership under strong support we hope to receive from South Africa," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said at a briefing in the capital, Pretoria, on Thursday.

The heads of state of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are scheduled to hold a meeting August 22 to 24 to discuss issues including the expansion of the group.

The political parties exploring a multi-party agreement are reaching out to civil society organisations ahead of their national convention, in the belief that collaboration will result in significant political change.

The political multi-party formation, which includes the Democratic Alliance, Inkatha Freedom Party, ActionSA, the United Independent Movement, Freedom Front Plus and Spectrum National Party, have organised a national convention for August 16 and 17.

The multi-party formation says South African civil society organisations have played a huge role in fighting for change, particularly during State capture.

The Zondo Commission has helped to uncover the extent of the rot in government over the years.

Letters have been sent to organisations, inviting their written inputs into this process and confirming an intention to host an engagement with civil society in the period following a successful National Convention.

The multi-party coalition believes that only through a broader cross-section of society working together will change be delivered in the country.

"Written submissions received will form part of the engagements of the beginning of the National Convention in such a manner that the engagements that follow will be guided by the wisdom of civil society. While the details will require further engagement at the National Convention, it is the view of these political parties that the political change that South Africa needs will require a partnership with non-government organisations, think tanks, organised labour, business, faith-based organisations and many others," they said.

The organisations are asking for written submissions to be sent via [email protected] by Monday August 14.

African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula admitted on Thursday that as the ruling party in government, the ANC has not done enough to better the lives of South Africans, and added that the party accepts the criticism that it could have done better.

He was addressing the media on the review of the party's Election Manifesto, which will take place on September 2 at the Orlando Stadium, in Soweto, and where President Cyril Ramaphosa will give a detailed account on the party's progress in renewal and the promised made to South Africans.

This will be followed by reviews in all nine provinces, regions and branches.

Mbalula said the review is an opportunity to turn the practices that undermine the integrity of the country's democratic institutions and creates the potential for higher rates of economic growth and development.

"Although we could have moved faster and the quality of services could have been much better, regrettably there has also been reversals in some critical areas. As a nation we have also learnt the harsh impact of society and the economy, arising from loss of integrity in institutions of State and business and in political and other formations," said Mbalula.

South Africa is currently faced with an energy crisis, with long bouts of loadshedding, which continues to cripple small businesses and, in some cases, also results in job losses.

Mbalula said the ANC has learnt hard lessons about the vigilance needed to stop crippling lawlessness, greed and selfishness.

He said as the party of governance, the ANC should have acted faster and moved decisively.

"We were remiss in not preventing a drift from the campus of integrity that inspired the generation whose mission was to achieve a democratic and inclusive society. We have heard the cries of millions about things that went wrong. We accept the criticism. Having learnt from both the good and the bad of the past 25 years informed by our history of commitment to the people's cause, we are resolved to make this an era of renewal and hope," said Mbalula.

Outlining the ANC 's renewal plan to turn things around, he said the ANC has started to revive the economy and speed up the growth and creation of economic opportunities.

He added that the Stimulus and Recovery Plan will help improve the lives of South Africans.

Mbalula believes that working with all sectors, his party will renew State institutions and point the economy towards a better life for all.

"A march to a better South Africa is unstoppable. The road ahead will not be easy," he admitted.