It’s almost a year since 37-year-old Ronias Tavengwa, a Zimbabwean who had petrol bombs thrown at his chest during protests against foreign truck drivers, succumbed to his devastating injuries.
The ruthless arson attack on Tavengwa took place in April 2019 and saw him sustain third-degree burns to the upper half of his body, while his employer’s truck burnt to ashes during the incident in Isipingo, south of Durban.
Tavengwa suffered excruciating pain for more than seven months before he left behind his wife and three young children.
He was among 21 drivers and crew died on our country’s roads last year because of a deadly transport war that prompted police minister Bheki Cele and transport minister Fikile Mbalula to establish an interministerial task force in June.
Between April 2018 and June last year between 50 and 74 trucks were attacked and damaged, according to reports by the police and the N3 Toll Concession. The estimated damage to vehicles and cargo was estimated to be about R1.2bn.
Responding to concerns, nearly 40 truck drivers were arrested in KwaZulu-Natal during a department of home affairs operation in the first week of July.
At the time, deputy minister Njabulo Bheka Nzuza said the operation was aimed at curbing the appetite of employers to employ undocumented foreigners in the name of profit.
“They must know that when they break the law and employ illegal immigrants they will face the consequences and our inspectorate unit will leave no stone unturned,” he said.
Even the Zulu monarch weighed in, condemning the attacks and pleading for the violence to stop.
King Goodwill Zwelithini said: “Even if there are foreign nationals who are here in the province, you are also implicated. Stop this because it is damaging our economy. Not only in this province, but the whole country.”
And now history seems to be repeating itself.
Police are on the hunt for those who allegedly petrol-bombed nine trucks on the N3 and R103 near Heidelberg on Thursday night.
According to the Road Freight Association (RFA) the trucks were among at least 30 that were attacked in SA last week, again linked to local drivers trying to stop the employment of foreigners in the trucking industry because they pose a “security threat”.
The attacks, seemingly well co-ordinated, come ahead of a planned march to Transnet’s Durban harbour offices on Tuesday by the National Truck Foundation (NTF), which is opposed to drivers from other countries being employed.
Police say crime-intelligence units have joined forces to track down the perpetrators and that maximum resources are being thrown at the investigation.
But how has this economic sabotage been allowed to rear its toxic head a year after the formation of an interministerial team to quell the violence?
We are angry South African truck drivers are sitting at home jobless, while foreign drivers are earning a living in trucks owned by South African businesses.
The trucking industry and the routes that link our port cities to our financial hub are our lifeblood. An estimated 3,000 trucks carry billions in goods daily. But the blood that is being spilt on our roads is equally as costly to bear.
SA is already reeling from the crippling effects of lockdown and this truck war threatens to hold our economy to ransom and further plunge our vulnerable state into flatline.
The trucking fraternity is crying foul that not enough is being done to safeguard these routes and protect those responsible for operating them.
Local bodies linked to last year’s violence are protesting innocence, saying they are unaware of the violence last week.
All Truck Drivers Foundation (ATF) chair Sipho Zungu told The Sunday Times that issues raised last year have not been resolved. “We are angry South African truck drivers are sitting at home jobless, while foreign drivers are earning a living in trucks owned by South African businesses.”
NTF general secretary Siphesihle Muthwa said the group did not know who was behind this week’s attacks. “We are in the dark just like everyone else. We condemn the violence.”
This political hot potato requires more than rhetoric or an interministerial task team.
Government needs to urgently put the brakes on this anarchy or we will not recover from the economic fallout.
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