The Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association (CODETA) is set to introduce a new cashless payment system for commuters. 

The association announced that from 1 June, passengers will be able to pay for their journeys using cards or a scan-to-pay system instead of cash. The move is aimed at modernising operations and improving commuter safety. 

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CODETA chairperson Nceba Enge told SmileFM that the association was moving quickly to implement the system.  

“CODETA has embarked on an action to introduce a cashless system that will be effective from June. We are working very, very swiftly now to make sure that that happens.” 

Enge said operators had already been informed and that engagements with drivers would take place on Wednesday and Thursday ahead of the official launch.  

He added that they are currently figuring out how they will inform commuters about how the new system will work. 

According to Enge, kiosks will be installed at taxi ranks where commuters can purchase and load payment cards. He also confirmed that cameras would be fitted inside taxis from next week as part of the broader rollout. 

“We are trying by all means to fast-track things so that we don’t fail,” Enge told SmileFM. 

He further acknowledged that some challenges can be expected, especially in the early months of the initiative, but urged all those involved to be patient.  

“We’ll have challenges, but we’ll correct the grey areas as we proceed with the system, just that people must bear with us. But I can assure you that after two months, everything will work.”  

Enge said the system is modelled after the way bus operators use cards.  

A demonstration of how the system will work is explained in the video below. The man explains that commuters can use their smartphones to scan the QR code on the side of the taxi, which will lead to a payment system, or cards loaded with their taxi fare can be handed to the driver, who will scan the card to make payment on his device. 

According to reports, the new payment model will also help resolve operational issues such as disputes over missing change and cash balancing problems experienced by drivers. 

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The City has denied that it’s penalising pensioners for selling koesisters, doughnuts or vetkoek from their homes.

The claim first surfaced during a discussion on Cape Talk last week, where a community leader from Hanover Park said residents had received notices that threatened them with penalties of up to 20 years in prison or fines of R800 000 for selling goods such as sweets and baked items from their properties.

But Deputy Mayor Eddie Andrews says that claim is false, and those spreading it are misleading the public.

“The City acted after complaints from the community about properties operating as full businesses, with signage, stock, increased activity and an impact on surrounding residents. There is a difference between someone trying to put food on the table through a small home-based activity, and a property operating as a full business.”

Andrews says residents who are baking koesisters from their home on a Sunday and selling them can continue to do so.

“You don’t need a planning application from the council because you can continue baking your koesisters and your samosas and whatever else you are baking there. But what does require permission from the council is when your home now resembles a shop. This is when you need the necessary planning application and environmental health assessments to see if your property is in the right condition to comply with the requirements.”

Andrews has acknowledged the important role spaza shops play in the community, and that the City stands ready to process applications for those who operate full shops from their homes.

Residents who run full spaza shops have been urged to visit the City’s website to submit a land use application, or contact the Development Management Department on 021 401 4702.

The Western Cape Government says recovery efforts are continuing across the province following consecutive severe weather events that left at least 11 people dead, displaced thousands and caused extensive infrastructure damage.

Premier Alan Winde, Local Government MEC Anton Bredell and Agriculture MEC Ivan Meyer on Monday briefed the media on the ongoing disaster response and recovery operations.

The province has requested that the latest storm system be classified as a national disaster, separate from the earlier Garden Route disaster declared earlier this month.

The storms brought between 150mm and 200mm of rainfall in mountainous areas, while winds reached up to 120km/h, triggering widespread flooding, storm damage, power outages and transport disruptions across all districts.

The hardest-hit areas include Worcester, Rawsonville, Wolseley, Ceres, Citrusdal, Vredendal, Lutzville and informal settlements across the City of Cape Town.

Winde said the province was now entering a lengthy recovery phase following what he described as one of the largest disaster incidents the province has managed.

“We saw concrete platforms of where a house used to be. You saw a gap in the river where a bridge used to be,” Winde said following an aerial assessment of affected areas.

He added that recovery costs were expected to run into “hundreds and hundreds of millions”, while agricultural losses could reach billions of rand.

“There has been good progress. But there is still a lot of work ahead. All our disaster management teams and other stakeholders are working as hard as they can to reopen all roads, repair damaged infrastructure, and restore critical services.”

According to provincial disaster management head Colin Deiner, more than 103,000 people were affected in Cape Town alone, while over 21,500 structures were damaged in the metro. Tens of thousands more residents were affected elsewhere in the province.

Approximately 651 people were rescued during the disaster response operation involving emergency medical services, SAPS water units, NSRI teams, volunteer rescue organisations and air support from the South African National Defence Force.

The N1 through the Hex River Valley was among the worst-affected transport routes, with approximately 250 trucks and 22 buses stranded during flooding near the Huguenot Tunnel.

Relief operations remain ongoing across the province, with authorities confirming that nearly 18,500 cooked meals, more than 1,000 food parcels, blankets, hygiene packs, bottled water and emergency shelter support have been distributed to affected residents.

Temporary shelters remain operational in several districts.

The province’s combined dam levels increased sharply from 52.46% last week to 70.59% following the storms, although authorities warned that saturated ground and unstable trees remain a major risk.

Eleven schools remained closed on Monday due to flood damage and accessibility concerns.

Electricity restoration efforts are continuing, with Winde praising Eskom and municipal teams despite difficult terrain and damaged infrastructure hampering access to some communities.

MEC Meyer said the agricultural sector had suffered severe losses, particularly in the Hex River Valley, Grabouw, Ceres and Bonnievale regions.

“We are busy with the verification exercise, but I can tell you it is not in the millions. It is in the billions of what I have seen.”

He said vineyards, irrigation systems, roads, bridges and soft-fruit farms sustained major damage, compounding existing pressures on farmers from drought, foot-and-mouth disease, rising fuel prices and export challenges.

Provincial leaders also highlighted climate change as a growing factor behind increasingly severe and frequent weather events.

Bredell said climate resilience planning had become a standing focus of the provincial cabinet, while Winde warned that long-term human settlement planning would need to address communities living in flood-prone areas.

“Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the 11 people who died,” Winde said.