Africa-Press – South-Africa. Police Minister Bheki Cele says a multipronged task team will be set up to deal with the scourge of taxi violence in KwaZulu-Natal.
Cele addressed about 18 taxi association representatives and other stakeholders at the Ugu Sport and Leisure Centre in Durban on Thursday.
He said the police would spearhead the establishment of the task team, made up of various government departments and structures.
“The death toll due to taxi violence has more than tripled compared to the same period last year where five people [were] killed in this area… if there is no special intervention we might reach crisis proportions, so we can’t fold our arms and say this is a transport problem only.”
Cele added:
Cele condemned any action by those in the taxi industry who sought to undermine the rule of law.
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“The fact that some taxi associations can collect about millions of rand annually through member fees, which is not taxed, and the associations officials can decide how to use that money which [is] unaccounted for, cannot be allowed to continue.
“It is clear we, as government and especially as law enforcers, need to clean house, clean this industry at the level of izinkabi (hitmen) because they are being paid by someone and also we need to clean at the level of ownership.”
He said the task team must ensure taxi associations and affiliated owners must explain the type of wealth they accumulated and what the money was being used for.
Cele added the task team had to create a reference point on how to deal with similar taxi industry conflicts countrywide.
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