Another Taxify driver killed: Premier’s task team fails

The fact that another Taxify driver was brutally killed this week is a clear indication that Premier David Makhura’s task team to probe the violence between metered taxi operators and e-hailing taxi operators has failed.

Moipolai Sekati’s body was found on Thursday after he went missing while out working on Wednesday evening.

The establishment of this task team was a step in the right direction.

However, in a written reply to questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, the Premier indicated that task team was not set up to engage with stakeholders in the taxi industry, but was rather designed to engage in operational matters and criminal investigations.

Since this task team was set up in September 2017 the Department of Roads and Transport only embarked on one Metered Taxi Outreach Programme at various licensing offices in the province.

This inaction by the ANC-led government in the ongoing violence on e-hailing taxi operators shows that they do not care about the well-being and safety of the people of Gauteng.

It is government’s responsibility to ensure that e-hailing taxi operators are able to operate in a safe and secure environment.

I will be writing to the Premier to request a meeting with him to discuss this issue, as our people are being denied the right to safe and reliable transport.

Statement issued by Fred Nel MPL, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Roads and Transport, 4 May 2018