KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Willies Mchunu, today, 24 November 2013 urged the community of Dumisani Makhaye in uMhlathuze Municipality to uphold the law to ensure peace and stability in the local taxi industry.
Mchunu was speaking to community members during a report-back session on the long standing dispute between Ngwelezane and A-Rank taxi associations operating in the area. He urged the community to allow the Ngwelezane taxi association, so far the only legally licensed operator, to continue providing transportation services.
In the meantime, said Mchunu, it was critical that the court process brought by a rank association be allowed to run its course. A-Rank has made a court application to force the Department of Transport to grant it operating licences, outside of the normal application process, which the department is defending.
Mchunu also stated that an investigation into the conflict clearly established that both Ngwelezane and A-Rank had previously illegally operated the route for at least 10 years. Before engaging the community, MEC Mchunu met with the leadership of both associations and community transportation committees to explain the findings of the investigation.
The decision to allow Ngwelazane taxi association to operate follows a long suspension of taxi operations, effected in June 2012, after Mchunu’s intervention to resolve the dispute.
"In the report it emerged that there is no evidence that A- Rank applied for the Dumisani Makhaye village route, whereas Ngwelezane had applied and since issued with operating licences," said Mchunu. He assured the community that those who break the law and fuel anarchy would face the full might of the law.
"In the meantime, let us allow Ngwelezane to continue operating because they have the legal right, while A-Rank completes its own application processes. It is critical that the people of Dumisani Makhaye village access transportation services to fulfil their daily needs. The responsibility to ensure peace and stability rests with all of us, because we have the duty to respect our own laws and defend the rights enshrined in our Constitution," said Mchunu.
