{"id":810604,"date":"2025-02-06T14:50:47","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T12:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=810604"},"modified":"2025-02-06T14:50:52","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T12:50:52","slug":"storm-brewing-over-afrikaans-uber-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/810604\/storm-brewing-over-afrikaans-uber-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Storm brewing over ‘Afrikaans Uber’ in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The City of Tshwane has intensified its crackdown on e-hailing services operating without proper permits, with Wanatu, an Afrikaans-focused e-hailing company, becoming the latest target. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following accusations that the company was receiving preferential treatment, the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) impounded multiple Wanatu vehicles for operating without the required documentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wanatu, which has been operational in Pretoria and Centurion since October 2024, has since suspended its services, citing the impoundments as unlawful and its drivers as victims of intimidation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customers were informed via SMS and social media, with the company vowing to take the matter to court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This enforcement comes in the wake of allegations from the political party Build One South Africa (BOSA), which questioned whether Wanatu was being treated more leniently than other e-hailing companies like Uber and Bolt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gauteng Provincial Legislature member Ayanda Allie also criticised the Tshwane metro for what she called double standards in applying the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

E-hailing operators in Gauteng have been grappling with a newly enforced permit requirement that came into effect in June 2024 under an amendment to the National Land Transport Act. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, obtaining these permits has proven to be a significant challenge, with a backlog exceeding 20,000 applications preventing many drivers from securing the necessary approvals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frustration over this issue led the E-hailing Partners Council (EPC) to stage a strike on 23 January 2025, protesting what they see as unfair enforcement of the rule while permits remain unavailable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tshwane Roads and Transport MMC Tlangi Mogale defended<\/a> the impoundments, stating that Wanatu was identified as operating illegally during routine inspections by the TMPD. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When officers requested proof of valid permits, Wanatu drivers were unable to provide them, leading to the seizure of their vehicles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing the broader concerns, Mogale insisted that the law must be applied equally, rejecting claims of favouritism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She underscored the city\u2019s position that all e-hailing companies must comply with national transport regulations, including Section 66 of the National Land Transport Act, which mandates permits for any transport service operating for a fee.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Tshwane Roads and Transport MMC Tlangi Mogale<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Mogale admitted that the permit backlog is a problem but said it doesn\u2019t mean companies can ignore the rules. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city is working with the provincial government to fix the issue, but for now, any vehicle without a valid permit will be impounded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also warned that some operators are trying to use fake receipts instead of real permits, which is illegal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another major concern is the safety of passengers. Mogale pointed out that some ride-hailing drivers from companies like Uber and Bolt have been involved in crimes such as robberies and assaults. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Without proper registration, she warned, it becomes difficult to trace perpetrators and hold them accountable,” she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further complicating matters is the controversy surrounding Wanatu\u2019s branding as an Afrikaans-language e-hailing service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the company insists it does not discriminate, it has come under scrutiny from the Human Rights Commission, which is investigating whether its business model is exclusionary, according to Mogale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wanatu has defended itself by stating that Afrikaans is simply the language of service and that its drivers are not required to be of any particular racial or cultural background. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has also pointed out that the majority of Afrikaans speakers in South Africa are not Afrikaners or white people, challenging claims that its service is inherently exclusionary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mogale, however, dismissed this defence, stating that branding a service in such a way raises serious concerns about racial and linguistic inclusivity in a constitutional democracy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She maintained that the city would not tolerate any system that bypasses national transport regulations or appears to cater exclusively to a specific demographic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the legal battle looms, Wanatu\u2019s future remains uncertain. The company insists it is being unfairly targeted, while the City of Tshwane remains firm that all e-hailing services, regardless of branding or language, must comply with national regulations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A legal battle looms as Wanatu, an Afrikaans-focused e-hailing company, is the latest target of Tshwane’s crackdown on e-hailing services.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":810624,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[13866,6490,8343,20207,853,6457,21552],"class_list":["post-810604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-bolt","tag-city-of-tshwane","tag-department-for-transport","tag-e-hailing","tag-south-africa","tag-uber","tag-wanatu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=810604"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":810632,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810604\/revisions\/810632"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/810624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=810604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=810604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=810604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}