by Crystal Orderson
Charmaine Bailey, 56, was senselessly gunned down in broad daylight at her Wynberg office on Thursday as she concluded a meeting with taxi drivers in the area.
Bailey was the chairperson of the Wynberg/Hout Bay Taxi Association and spokesperson for the Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association (Cata).
A first for a woman who hailed from the Cape Flats, her brutal death is a stark reminder of the underbelly in the sector and one can only hope that her killers will be brought to book.
As the chairperson of one of Cape Town’s biggest routes, Bailey was passionate to see change in the industry, always willing to help where she could and bring warring parties to sit around the same table. She was also the training officer for Cata’s regional taxi council.
An entrepreneur, businesswoman, and leader within the taxi industry and within Cata, Bailey believed that the empowerment of taxi drivers was essential. As one of only a handful of women, she was committed to seeing the sector recognised for the importance it plays in society.
The reality is that the industry is often viewed with suspicion in many communities. However, it is the backbone of our public transport sector, love it or hate it. And without it no one will be able to get to work, it transports thousands of workers and families every day yet it does not receive any state subsidies.
It was here that Bailey believed she had to play a role, introducing training and working tirelessly to introduce new ways of working.
She grew up in Lavender Hill and was never going to accept the narrow trajectory of many other women on the Cape Flats.
In the 1980s, it was working in a factory for many young women from the Cape Flats. But Bailey wanted more, and she completed matric at Lavender Hill High School, a first in the family, and worked in the banking sector for many years.
At FNB, her quick thinking and hard work were quickly recognised and she rose up the ranks.
Always up for a new challenge, Bailey retrained as an estate agent, looking at how to get more families from the Cape Flats into their own properties, even in areas like Constantia.
She worked tirelessly with young families to negotiate the best deals with banks and get them into their dream homes.
She later spent time in Bonteheuwel, where her grandparents and mother grew up, and got involved in the Bonteheuwel taxi association. She was elected secretary of the group.
Her passion was to see ordinary taxi drivers empowered and change the face of the sector, and her passion and commitment to the industry saw her leadership recognised and she was elected as a senior leader within Cata.
From Bonteheuwel, Bailey moved to the Wynberg/Hout Bay Taxi Association and was elected treasurer. The association had so much faith in Bailey that they later elected her as chairperson of the powerful association.
As a mother to her only son, Caleb, her dream was to see him prosper. She could not be more proud when he graduated with a law degree.
Bailey had special treatment while watching a Man United game while in London, visiting Benni McCarthy, a friendship that had spanned decades.
Bailey just wanted “to do good, make a difference in the sector and make others better”, Caleb told me.
The brutality of my cousin’s murder at the hands of gunmen is difficult to comprehend, and her mother finds it difficult to comprehend the brazenness of it all.
* Crystal Orderson.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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