Tshwane taxi operators, metro join hands to fight drug scourge

Taxi drivers along with law enforcement and the city of Tshwane will combat crime at hotspots in and around the City.

A Police officer is seen among a crowd of protesting taxi drivers in the Pretoria CBD during a standoff, 3 September 2019. Picture: Jacques Nelles

Tshwane taxi drivers have decided to work with police and the city’s safety and security officials to tackle the scourge of drugs in Pretoria, reports Pretoria North Rekord.

This after Tshwane-based taxi driver Jabulani Baloyi was shot and killed last week Tuesday while confronting an alleged drug dealer who was said to be a foreign national.

Baloyi’s murder fueled a spate of violence that spread as far as Johannesburg, which led to a meeting being held to end the violence.

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Tshwane MMC for roads and transport Sheila Senkubuge and her counterpart at community safety, Karen Meyer, along with the taxi industry stakeholders and law enforcement held a joint steering committee meeting on Thursday.

The meeting included representatives from the Tshwane metro, taxi associations Santaco and NTA, metro police, SAPS, and taxi operators.

Meyer said the committee’s purpose was to ensure collaborative efforts between the taxi industry, law enforcement, and the Tshwane metro in addressing various concerns and effecting the restoration of order across the city.

“The joint steering committee is also a platform for disseminating information to combat crime at hotspots in and around the city,” she said.

Meyer said the metro would create a more concerted and coordinated effort between TMPD and SAPS to combat crime in the city.

“The TMPD will assist the SAPS in its anti-drug crime action.”

Meyer said it was also suggested that the TMPD and SAPS create a visible platform on social media to communicate successes such as drug busts and other crime-fighting activities more readily, to address community members’ concerns and allay fears about crime spiralling further out of control and inaction by law enforcement agencies.

Police said the investigation of the death Baloyi and other related matters would be dealt with swiftly.

“The matter has also been escalated to the IPID,” said Meyer.

Santaco Tshwane chairperson Abna Tsebe said: “As a law-abiding industry, we ask South Africans to leave the matter of solving the murder of Baloyi in the capable hands of law enforcement officers.

“We believe the law enforcement agencies are doing their best in bringing the perpetrator to book and because we also trust in the law of the land, we believe that the perpetrator will face the full might of the law.”