Amid all the scenes of truck burning and related acts of violent opposition to foreign nationals working in South Africa’s road freight sector, the voices of terrified truck drivers who just want to do their work remain largely unheard.
An all-women news initiative, however, is broadcasting interviews in which the plight of drivers is made palpable.
One of the interviewees responsible for driving between Cape Town and City Deep where a number of trucks were shot at yesterday said: "We are scared, scared, scared!
“We don’t know what is happening. All we want is for the minister to come out and talk to us because no one says anything.”
Asked whether he supported the strike, the driver said he did but that he also feared for his own safety.
He added: “If I go on strike, who’s going to feed my family?”
Another driver, filmed en route to KwaZulu-Natal, said: “The strike is coming at the wrong time.”
Drivers hadn’t prepared for it, he told a journalist from Newzroom Afrika.
However, like the other driver, he said he supports the strike.
In the meantime Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula is yet to say anything about the incidents of truck torching across the country, despite talks yesterday with one of the organisations blamed for instigating the violence – the All Truck Drivers’ Foundation (See report elsewhere).
After the talks his office also didn’t release a statement.
And although some industry representatives say it’s not for Mbalula’s office to act against truck violence because essentially it’s a labour-related issue involving foreign nationals and therefore should be handled by the relevant departments, the Department of Transport is conspicuously quiet.
“We haven’t heard from them at all. Not a thing,” said Mike Fitzmaurice, chief executive (CE) of the Federation of East and Southern African Road Transport Associations (Fesarta).
“They use the army for the pandemic but road transport apparently is not a national security issue.”
Gavin Kelly, CE of the Road Freight Association, said it should be considered though that the army was there to protect the country.
“This is a domestic issue and should be handled by the police. They seem to be completely overwhelmed though. Theoretically, seeing as the army is already deployed for the pandemic, one would imagine they should be used in this regard.”
