Meet character 2: Mandla

I started out as a conductor and graduated to driver after two years. The only qualification I needed was an identity card, a driving license, and a certificate of good conduct. After 20 years of taxi driving I started up a small business in this industry and now I have 7 employees providing taxi and minibus services in Johannesburg, but although I’m the owner I also drive to guarantee the survival of my business. The industry of taxis and minibuses is open to anyone who has the courage to face the consequences that come with the job, especially in big cities like this. Together with my 7 employees, we work long hours, put a lot of effort in the job but despite this I can’t guarantee to my colleagues the benefits employees usually enjoy in regular jobs: my enterprise is registered in the local municipality but I don’t contribute to any social security scheme and none of us has medical coverage, I simply can’t afford that. In this way, we can keep our prices lower than other providers and attract more clients, taking advantage from the public transport system’s flaws. For now, my employees are satisfied with their daily wage and we are all able to budget accordingly: paying house rent, school fees and food is all that is necessary. Moreover, driving is the only thing that we can do.

45 years old

owner of a taxi/minibus company

Johannesburg

Mandla

But what will happen if one of us fails to wake up and get to work? What if one of my employees has a car accident? I’m very worried about that. And what if my business slumped? I don’t have any job security and I can’t even assure it to my employees. I’ve heard about the “South African Black Taxi association” but I’ve never get in touch with them. You know, I would like to be supported in the formalization of my business without taking a loss...