The transport industry in Musina and Thohoyandou says it has been hard hit by anti-immigration campaigns targeting foreign nationals. Taxi drivers, rank marshals and traders told Limpopo Mirror that taxis are taking longer to fill up and that they are making fewer trips than before the 30 June deadline set by anti-immigration groups for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa.
However, Rebecca Phala of the South African National Taxi Council said the organisation could not attribute the decline in business solely to the anti-immigration campaign.
“The taxi industry is still recovering from the effects of Covid-19, and the 30 June campaign coincided with the school holidays, when there was generally less movement,” she said.
At the Musina taxi rank, rank marshals from the Musina Taxi Association said it was now difficult to make more than five trips a day to the Beitbridge Border Post, about 15 km north of Musina.
“Before the anti-immigration movement demanded that undocumented migrants leave the country, we would usually complete at least eight trips before midday, but now we are making fewer than five trips,” said one rank marshal, who asked not to be named.
“We used to rush to the border to collect commuters from Zimbabwe who came to Musina in large numbers every day to buy groceries and other household goods before returning home on the same day. That is no longer the case, and our business has been badly affected,” he said.
Limpopo Mirror visited the taxi rank last Thursday at about 08:00. Rank marshals were busy calling for passengers, but few commuters arrived. The newspaper spent more than 30 minutes observing activity at the rank and saw no passengers boarding taxis bound for the border.
Another taxi driver operating between the Thohoyandou taxi rank and Duthuni village said he was experiencing similar challenges. He is affiliated with the Thohoyandou Taxi Association.
“Many foreigners who used to live in the village relied on public transport, and that gave us business. Now there are far fewer foreigners living there, and business is no longer the same,” said the taxi driver.
“Before this wave of anti-immigrant activity, we made at least four trips a day. Now we make only two or three trips during the entire day,” he said.
The newspaper also spoke to informal traders in Musina. Most said local residents remained peaceful, but many Zimbabweans were afraid to travel to the town in the numbers they once did.
Fanuel Mudau, an MTN agent who sells airtime and data vouchers, said he had noticed a decline in sales since Monday, 13 July. Mudau, who has worked as an MTN agent since 2019, said he previously made between R600 and R700 a day, but that his income had fallen since anti-immigration protests intensified.
In addition to selling airtime and data, Mudau also earns money by helping Zimbabwean shoppers carry their goods from shops to the taxi rank. However, he said there were now far fewer customers.
“I sit in front of the Indian-owned shops because Zimbabweans prefer to buy their goods there, often in bulk. They also need airtime and data to communicate with relatives back home,” he said.
“Now I hardly make more than R400 a day. It has become difficult to provide for my family.”