Taxi Operators get HIV/AIDS Resource Centre in Pietermaritzburg

Ignorance can be dangerous and knowledge is power.

That was the message delivered and reinforced by provincial ministers and a Petronet management representative during the launch of a roadside HIV/AIDS resource centre this month.

The resource centre is aimed at providing HIV/AIDS related information, distributing condoms and providing administrative office space for taxi operators working from the Impendle taxi rank in Pietermaritzburg.

The launch which featured HIV/AIDS awareness performances by TV dramatists was addressed by KwaZulu Natal Transport Minister, Mr S’bu Ndebele, Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, and her Majesty MaNdlovu, the wife of King Goodwill Zwelithini Zulu who represented Petronet.

Mr Ndebele pointed out: "There is an African saying that goes: ‘You must give to the ancestors (Idlozi liyabhekelwa)' – meaning that if you do not sacrifice to the ancestors, you may encounter misfortune.

"It is true that a time will come when each and every one of us will have to leave this earth."

"But it is also true that some people do go before their time has come because of unbecoming conduct or way of life."

"There are various ways of dying nowadays. Some of these include dying as a result of HIV/AIDS related illnesses and road accidents which can be prevented."

"We can prevent road accidents by using vehicles that are legal and roadworthy and driven by drivers who are not drunk, drivers who have not taken drugs, and those who are licensed to be on the road," said Mr Ndebele.

He said that it was important to standardize road conduct so that society did not have practices that are only proper for the city – like using a roadworthy vehicle when driving in Pietermaritzburg.

But when you are in Imbali Township you can use a vehicle that is not roadworthy, a "skoroskoro", said the Minister.

"The fact that we are in a new South Africa means that we must treasure human life irrespective of where we live – whether we live in the city or township, road rules are the same everywhere," he added.

The Minister asserted: ‘No one can accuse us if we take the liberty to get rid of vehicles which are unlicensed and not roadworthy. That is why we have Operation Shalela in the taxi industry.

"Those marksmen who are destabilizing public transport and defying the legitimate taxi leadership will not win this battle, the government and the long arm of the law will.

"So public transport operators who use these marksmen to enter into the business and work in routes they are not permitted to be on are now seeing their vehicles seized and impounded and they have to pay in order to get them back.

"They have caused enough suffering and pain amongst their victims who include innocent passengers.

"They cannot be allowed to get away with blatant murder and corruption."

Praising the justice system for becoming tough on rapists whom he accused of being responsible for the rapid spread of the virus, Mr Ndebele explained: "Transportation is as old as the time of the Lord Jesus Christ who at His time used a donkey as a mode of transport.

"That is why there can be no transformation or development without involving transportation.

"Any positive development aimed at empowering society can be best achieved targeting transport users.

"So we welcome the fact that information on HIV/AIDS and condoms will now be accessed whilst a passenger or driver is sitting in his or her taxi.

"We will learn how to talk to our children about sex. We conquered the apartheid system, we have minimized the political violence to a point where it is almost absent in KwaZulu Natal, we are presently tackling the root causes of taxi violence, now let us overcome the battle against the spread of HIV together.

"We have to embrace a safer sex culture, based on respect for human life, and for women in particular," he concluded.

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