Bread trucks escorted under guard overnight to restock empty shelves in Cape Town

Hundreds of deliveries of bread were made overnight by trucks with guarded escorts to stores, kiosks and spaza shops which had run out of basic essentials during the taxi strike in Cape Town. 

Traffic was free-flowing on Friday morning as minibus taxis returned to the roads, hours after an end to the chaotic eight-day-long strike during which five people were killed, about 10 Golden Arrow buses worth about R2.5m each were destroyed and 115 other buses damaged.

“Golden Arrow and MyCiTi buses continue to be monitored, along with various public transport interchanges,” said safety and security MMC JP Smith.

“Since we were uncertain of the promised stability for today, we arranged for guarded escorts through the night to protect deliveries of bread into the volatile areas that had remained under threat for the past week. 

“Under cover of darkness, hundreds of deliveries of Blue Ribbon bread were made to stores, kiosks and spaza shops during the night. Operation Bread Winner began shortly after midnight. Areas included Langa, Masiphumelele, Kraaifontein, Delft, Khayelitsha and Nyanga.”

Township stores were hit particularly hard by the strike as stores ran out of essentials. Those with stock resorted to hiking the price of bread. 

“We are grateful to have our city moving again and look forward to us entering a new period, defined foremost by improved road safety, but also by a renewed consideration for others that share the road,” said Smith. 

“The road belongs to everyone. Let's respect each other, let's respect the rules of the road.” 

TimesLIVE