Gauteng reopens taxi routes in Soweto following signing of peace deal
The Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) will reopen taxi ranks and routes that were closed in Soweto following violent clashes earlier this year. The reopening of operations follows the signing of a peace deal between the Nancefield Dube West Taxi Association (NANDUWE) and Witwatersrand Taxi Association (WATA).
MEC for Roads and Transport Jacob Mamabolo convened urgent meetings with the two minibus taxi associations in a bid to broker a solution to the impasse which saw the department closing the taxi ranks. The taxi ranks and routes will be officially reopened on Tuesday, 18 June 2019, this will be gazetted by the MEC.
Speaking at the peace deal signing ceremony at the historic Hector Piertersen Memorial this morning (11 June, 2019) MEC Mamabolo said that the agreement reached through negotiations between the affected the two associations. He said the agreement was written and agreed upon by the two associations.
“Our country is known, the world over, for the 1994 negotiated settlement. This agreement is a product of negotiations that we started in the last two weeks. Moving forward negotiation is the only way we should find solutions to problems that face the taxi industry in the area. We cannot resort to violence and the killing of innocent lives when we face challenges.The signing ceremony paves the path for the department to engage with the affected communities to upraise them on the way forward. The public meeting will take place at Uncle Tom’s Hall in Soweto tomorrow.
In the agreement, the two associations have committed to the cessation of all hostilities while the department conducts an investigation on routes registration duplications and the issuance of the problematic operating licenses for the two associations members. The investigation will be carried out in a period of three to four months and MEC Mamabolo has committed to make the findings public.
“The two associations will set up a joint operational and monitoring team that will draft operational rules. Our department will design and issue a common sticker to be affixed on all 200 taxis that will be operating from the loading points,” said Mamabolo.
Enquiries:Theo Nkonki
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