Vereeniging taxi rank still incomplete after numerous promises

VEREENIGING. – Large businesses have closed shop in the Central Business District (CBD) of Vereeniging and those that remain say that it is a matter of time before they too, follow suit.
This is due to the unfinished multimillion rand taxi rank in Vereeniging which has left thousands of commuters high and dry, and now many prefer to shop somewhere else because of the public transport inconvenience. The taxi rank was scheduled to be completed last October, but today, five years since the construction upgrade project started, there has been no development. As a result of the delays, many shops in and around Vereeniging have closed, leaving hundreds unemployed as the taxi rank is central to the economy of Vereeniging. The area around the taxi rank is almost a ‘ghost town’ because of the negative impact of the six-year-long non-completion of the taxi rank.
In July this year, the Gauteng MEC for Roads and Transport, Jacob Mamabolo, promised commuters that the taxi rank would be completed soon.
There has been no developments at the rank since Mamabolo’s visit in July.
“The taxi rank in Vereeniging is the fundamental priority. It is an important priority and we will also announce in due course what we are going to do with that matter so that we can reopen the taxi rank,” Mambolo had said during the visit. The Democratic Alliance’s Emfuleni Constituency Head, Dady Mollo, has said that they will write to Mamabolo to remind him of his “empty promises” and hold him accountable