Taxi murders: Minister Madikizela meets taxi industry leaders to find solutions

I met with the leadership of the Western Cape Branch of the SA National Taxi Council (SANTACO), as well as 'motherbodies' Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (CODETA) and Cape Amalgamated Taxi Associations (CATA) taxi associations again this morning in an attempt to try to find solutions to the ongoing taxi violence that we have seen escalating in the province.

Today’s meeting follows a series of meetings with the leadership of the “motherbodies” following the recent spike in taxi related conflict and murders, including incidents at the beginning of the month which saw six taxi operators gunned down in Philippi East and Nyanga.

A previously scheduled meeting to address the killings was postponed at the request of the industry, following an incident at the home of one of the leaders.

There have been 43 taxi related murders and 20 cases of attempted murders in this year alone. These include cases in Paarl, Delft, Bellville, Bloekombos, Ceres, Masiphumelele and Nyanga. These cases involve either CATA and/or CODETA and affiliated associations.

To date the SAPS has arrested 97 suspects in cases involving taxi related crimes and 47 cases are currently on the Court rolls. CATA and CODETA are central to most criminal cases that are being investigated by the police. 75% of criminal cases to date involve CATA-affiliated members and 20% of criminal cases to date involve CODETA-affiliated members.

From my appointment as the Western Cape Minister of Transport and Public Works, I committed myself to working with the taxi industry to deal with the challenges they face.

During the meeting, I wanted to know who the real leaders of the Western Cape taxi industry are, why they are killing each other, who are the hitmen and who are the pay masters?

I asked the industry to explain why 43 members of their own were killed this year alone. I wanted to understand whether the killings are about turf wars or routes, whether they are about permits, jealousy or revenge. I wanted the leaders to tell me what they believe are the reasons behind the killings, what will make them stop and what they are doing to stop the killings.

Both CATA and CODETA admitted that some of the challenges include the recruitment of members to join rival associations and to take over routes operated by the other. The “motherbodies” also raised issues of outstanding permits and a lack of enforcement in certain areas.  

Officials of the Department of Transport and Public Works asked the industry leaders to provide them with the details of any outstanding Operating Licence applications so that any blockages in its processing can be addressed. Officials added that last year, the Western Cape Provincial Regulatory Entity (PRE) processed 99% of applications within less than 60 days, with an average turn-around time of 32 days. The legislated turn-around time for processing applications for new operating licenses is 90 days.

 In response to the industry's demands for legalising long serving illegal operators, the Department is finalising arrangements for engaging municipal planning authorities on the issue of additional demand created as a result of the failure of rail and other factors.

I am seriously concerned about the escalating violence between the province’s two biggest “motherbodies”. I will continue to engage the taxi industry and ensure the rule of law is respected. My Department will continue to assist the SAPS with any information that they may require in their investigations. We need a stable and safe taxi industry for the sake of our commuters.