A flourishing partnership between farmers and taxi bosses in the Eastern Free State is part of a miracle of reconciliation that “just keeps on growing”, said Senekal bridge builder Pastor John Mathuhle.
He says the positive relationship between farmers and taxi owners is one of a number of blessings that grew out of “a miracle” in October 2020 when God turned a potential race war over a farm murder court case into a journey of community healing and restoration that continues to inspire communities across South Africa.
Mathuhle, who facilitated peace in Senekal in 2020, noted that while you wouldn’t expect farmers and taxi bosses to “hold hands together”, the two groups do have common traits — they are hard working, passionate about their work and incredibly protective of their farms and businesses.
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“When you find something that brings historically divided groups together, I think we can turn this country around and that’s exactly what we are seeing,” he said.
Ficksburg Taxi boss and Free State secretary of the national taxi association SANTACO, Mohlabane Phumodi told Gateway News that cooperation between farmers and taxi owners began after the October 2020 miracle and people from Senekal’s different communities started working together around the common ideal of improving the town for everybody.
But it was a very specific, common goal, that took the taxi-farmer partnership to the next level, he said. In March 2021 taxi owners and farmers blocked the R26 road in Ficksburg with their taxis, tractors and heavy machinery in a peaceful protest against dilapidated roads in the area which were affecting their livelihoods.
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Phumodi, a Methodist Church circuit steward and preacher who is passionate about Jesus, says the roads are unfortunately still dilapidated but he thanks farmers in the area who continue to support taxi owners by making repairs to both tarred and dirt roads on taxi routes.
Morgan Barrett, a Ficksburg farmer and former chairman of the Ficksburg Farmers’ Association confirmed that in his area there is good cooperation between the local farmers’ association and taxi association
He said the taxi owners call on farmers for help with bad roads and farmers call on taxi owners when they need information regarding the location of vehicles suspected of being involved in farm attacks or stock theft.
“I’ve personally recovered some of my stolen cattle through information obtained via the taxi association, and so we’ve certainly got a strong spirit of working together which bucks the trend, I think, nationally of how farmers view taxis with a lot of skepticism and vice versa how taxi owners view farmers,” he said
Barrett also cited the R26 protest as a key moment in building the farmer-taxi owners partnership. He said that before the protest their letters to authorities about the bad roads were ignored. But their protest, during which farmers and taxi owners braaied together on the road, forced the provincial government to meet with them. The government has since announced that they have budgeted for retarring of the R26, which is a step in the right direction, he said.
Phumodi said he is hopeful that the good working relationship between taxi bosses and farmers will develop into further joint projects. For instance, he said, that he has participated in Santaco dicussions about taxi owners launching a courier service.
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