Partnership Required. David Lipschitz letter to the Cape Times published Mon 4 Jul 2016

At my meeting with Mr Nagel, he spoke about engagement vs partnership.

I needed time to think about this before writing to you, as these are incredibly powerful words and concepts.

Mr Nagel said that the minibus taxi industry had engaged with the cities and government, but that they didn't see each other as partners.

Engaged, to me, signifies that a (minimal) level of communication and commitment has been achieved.

A partnership would signal a full integration and full commitment of both parties to a process of growing and getting better together.

Getting "engaged" to someone signifies commitment, but there is still an easy "out".

You lose the engagement ring and perhaps you feel dumped. You recover and get on with your life.

Once people are "engaged" they might get married and this signifies a full commitment to each other, a full partnership, a full trust and love for each other.

Each person in a partnership or marriage wants the best for the other person and goes out of their way to help this person achieve the best they possibly can in the relationship.

The city of Cape Town and the other cities in South Africa, and the ANC and DA governments in the country, need to get into bed with the taxi industry, instead of staying in the lounge!

Full partnerships are required where both parties receive the best possible value out of their relationship, instead of simply engaging with each other.

In this way I believe that South Africa will move in the right direction.