Call for lasting taxi solution

Although the R50 billion taxi industry continues to grow, it is not formalised and a lack of real empowerment opportunities are set to ruin the sector, according to an expert.

The latest spate of minibus taxi violence has claimed lives of at least five people, with several others injured in Tshwane’s Olievenhoutbosch township.

Taxi World editor Joel Mafenya calls for an end to the carnage and urges government to be “proactive and not be reactive”.

Gauteng premier David Makhura has announced a commission of inquiry into the taxi violence, set to have its first sitting tomorrow, and Mafenya described the decision as “a sign of being reactive”.

“This violence has been there for several years and what we need is an all-embracive approach – not a top-down type of a solution,” said Mafenya. “The industry has for far too long been left by the government to operate informally.

“Like any business, it is time for it to be formalised in terms of how it operates.

“The stakes are high and fights over routes are at the core of the violence – a sign that the market is shrinking.

“Drivers and commuters in Olievenhoutbosch and elsewhere find themselves being caught in the crossfire.

“What taxi operators need is real economic empowerment that is legislated.

“While there have been a few government-initiated investigations and commissions focussing on taxi-related killings in the past, we have not seen ... recommendations being implemented.”