Cape Town Youth demand Change

Cape Town, South Africa / August 11, 2023

A member of a Cape Town church was just one of the countless thousands whose life was devastated by the destruction of her fruit and veg business in the violence unleashed by the taxi strike. Almost a million of our fellow Capetonians have been severely impacted for over a week. Five people lost their lives, countless lost their vehicles and small businesses. Countless numbers were completely traumatized by having to walk through dangerous streets to get home and many were robbed. More than half a million children have lost a week of schooling. Clinics have been closed and vandalized.

“The people of Cape Town find themselves ensnared in a crossfire ignited by the hubris of two warring entities, both seemingly incapable of mustering the maturity required for an amicable resolution.”

“When the elephants fight, the grass is trampled.”

Shame on you Santaco;  Shame on you JP Smith; shame on you Mr Mayor. This is not about scoring political points; this is about people’s lives. Stop bragging about “winning”  which will trigger the conflict again, and find ways to work together to provide safe affordable transport for a million Capetonians.

Please listen to the youth. Below is a powerful statement issued by the Cape Youth Collective (CAYCO) on August 9, 2023 during the conflict:

CAYCO calls on the opposing sides in the current Cape Town taxi strike to show mature leadership and end the impasse. Inspired by the martyrs who came before us, CAYCO notes the dire impact that the current strike has on the working class in Cape Town. While SANTACO and the City of Cape Town continue to engage in verbal hostilities, the lives and livelihoods of those most marginalized in this city are put at risk. The people of Cape Town find themselves ensnared in a crossfire ignited by the hubris of two warring entities, both seemingly incapable of mustering the maturity required for an amicable resolution.

As the youth of this city, we will no longer remain silent as our parents, siblings, grandparents and the most vulnerable in our communities, continue to bear the brunt of grown men intent on exercising their bravado with utter disregard for their responsibilities.

We call on SANTACO to go beyond platitudes in condemnation of the violence that has already taken lives, and to act decisively in assisting law enforcement in apprehending those who continue to bring misery to ourselves and our loved ones.

We condemn SANTACO for the inconsiderate and cruel manner in which they embarked on the strike which has to this day had a devastating impact on working-class people’s safety, and dignity. Including the ability to earn a living, attend school and access critical healthcare.

CAYCO specifically calls on the Executive Mayor of the City of Cape Town as well as his MAYCO member of Safety and Security to show leadership and exercise restraint in the combative and inflammatory language used during this time. The Executive Mayor’s statements on the current violence do little to quell current violence and tension. And if ‘staying the course’ as he states, is the only solution he is able to muster, then he must stand aside and make space for a leader who values the lives and safety of the inhabitants of this city.

To leadership in national government, it is our expectation that your response to the current crisis facing Cape Town’s working class, is not, as we have seen before, ignored for political reasons. We believe there are two immediate action points that need to be actioned by the City of Cape Town.

1. Communication. There has been a dire lack of communication by City of Cape Town officials to the citizens of this city, from the onset of the taxi strike and throughout. Unverified and outdated content is shared by communities, who have been forced to make use of social media for information and this has predictably led to further feelings of paranoia and fear. We call on the Mayor to act with care and speak to this deficit urgently. Creating a centralized platform in which information about road closures, acts of violence, and detailed routes of alternative transport is shared.
2. Worker Protection. We have seen many incidences in the past few days of gross worker exploitation. Some workers in this city have not been home for more than three days and have been forced to sleep at their place of employment for fear of losing their jobs. Many workers have also reported that they fear for their safety, but are forced to find ways to get to work. The deplorable and cruel acts of employers during this time are symptomatic of an insidious lack of concern for the safety and well-being of the working class. We call on the City of Cape Town, the Cape Chamber of Commerce to engage with business owners. We also call on relevant legal-based non-profit organizations to provide support to workers. These acts of violence inflicted on our people form part of the continued existence of the Group Areas Act, and the events of this past week have only laid the scars of our past bare. We also note the lack of clear communication by relevant actors, which is only working to foster an environment of paranoia and misinformation.

The Cape Youth Collective (CAYCO) draws both inspiration and a clear mandate from the political clarity and sacrifices of the martyrs who paved the way for us. The tangible consequences of Spatial Apartheid persist in our daily lives. Cape Town remains a city divided—segregated by racial and railway lines that continue to shackle us within the confines of the Group Areas Act.

Our people are perpetually trapped in servitude, labouring in the city centre only to silently return to its outskirts. Countless hours vanish during these commutes, too numerous to tally. Survival mode is our reality, our people struggle to make ends meet, while the privileged elite thrives on the ongoing disenfranchisement of our community as well as the divisions within the working class of this city.

We, the Youth of the Cape Colony firmly believe it is time to re imagine and redefine this reality and specifically this city. We are the children and proud descendants of those who built this city, the enslaved from Indonesia and Mozambique. We are the children of the dispossessed, of the Khoe and the forgotten San. We want our city back.

We, the Youth of Cape Town, assert that the time has come for our fellow citizens to awaken to the manipulations of politicians who seek to exploit this crisis and all others for electoral gain. The moment has arrived for the People to reclaim ownership of this city and make it work for them. The path to reclaiming our city commences with a frank acknowledgement of the pervasive physical and communal violence that plagues us. The extent of this violence, as we collectively acknowledge, is an outgrowth of the deep-seated white-supremacist-capitalistic system that pervades our “democratic-rainbow” South Africa.

The Youth of Cape Town firmly believes it is time to re imagine and redefine our unjust City by collectively organizing and strategizing to enhance systemic transformation in the Cape.

The youth of Cape Town are stirring; we are waking up. Be warned. Beware.

For more info:

Facebook: @CAYCO_capeyouthcollective
Instagram: @CAYCO_CAPEYOUTHCOLLECTIVE
Photos: Groundup