Ramaphosa ‘troubled’ by ‘violence and destruction’ caused by Cape taxi strike

President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned the violence and destruction that has characterised the deadly taxi protest in Cape Town, saying he was "troubled" by events unfolding in the city.

Chaos ensued in Cape Town last week when the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) abruptly halted all minibus taxi operations in the Western Cape after an impasse with city authorities.

Five people have died and 35 people have been arrested since last week. Ramaphosa spoke at a Women's Day event hosted at the Union Buildings in Pretoria and used his lengthy speech to address the ongoing strike.

Wednesday's event was initially meant to be hosted in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, but had to be moved due to the area being considered a "high risk".

Ramaphosa said while South Africa's democracy protected peaceful protests and lawful strike action, "we can't condone what has been happening in Cape Town".

"We strongly condemn the violence and destruction caused by this dispute. We are appalled by the killings and assaults that have taken place because women have also been injured in all of this.

"Blocked roads that lead to blocked businesses, blocked education and blocked health services impede the services that should be given to the women of our country as well.

"We must uphold the law and we must solve problems through meaningful dialogue. Dialogue is the best way of resolving problems," he said.

Ramaphosa also used his speech to speak about a range of issues affecting South African women today, conceding that while much has been done to empower them there was  more to be done.

TimesLIVE