AN intergovernmental task-team has been established to tackle ongoing taxi violence which has resulted in a number of killings in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
The team will facilitate peaceful negotiations and clear matters of conflict between various taxi associations – including Richards Bay.
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The establishment of the team follows a high-level meeting between Police Minister Bheki Cele, KZN MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Bheki Ntuli, and provincial police top-brass last week in order to find practical interventions to end the recent bloodbath within the industry.
‘Our meeting with Police Minister Bheki Cele and taxi industry role players is an important step towards finding a long-lasting solution to the conflict that has engulfed the industry.
‘We have embarked on a multi-pronged strategy which includes strengthening security, improving intelligence and exploring all legal avenues to intervene decisively,’ said MEC Ntuli.
Ntuli said a comprehensive security plan has been formed and will be accompanied by a strong police presence to monitor the movement of vehicles in the affected areas and protect commuters.
‘As government we have a responsibility to protect every citizen, more importantly, innocent commuters. We will not sit idle and watch when innocent people are being killed, one death is one too many,’ said MEC Ntuli.
Ntuli is expected to engage all affected stakeholders and individuals in order to share government’s intentions and plan of action to deal with this scourge.
‘As part of the process, I will be consulting Premier Sihle Zikalala and Members of the Executive Council on some of the key proposals to ensure peace and stability in the taxi industry,’ he said.
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