MEDIA STATEMENT

MEASURES DEALING WITH THE TAXI TENSIONS IN KZN ARE ANNOUNCED

The past week has seen a very negative side of the taxi industry. This has continued to spoil and damage the reputation of the taxi industry in KwaZulu-Natal. The KZN Department of Transport (KZN DOT) will continue to look for solutions to make sure that this potentially powerful and profitable black-owned industry prospers.

Following Friday's events, the KZN DOT has met with the Concerned Taxi Owners and Drivers to further listen to their gripes and concerns. Subsequently, the following decisions have been taken to assist the smooth operations of the taxi industry and ultimately promote passenger safety in the province.

One of the complaints that came out clearly, was that taxi industry members in the province were improperly represented in the provincial taxi council, KWANATACO. To solve this, the KZN DOT has suggested that there be an amendment to the KWANATACO constitution. This will facilitate proper representation, redistribution and allocation of funding from the KZN Department of Transport to the taxi council. The KZN DOT is facilitating an avenue for the industry to discuss this matter.

There is a complete review process of the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme at National level. The concern regarding taxi recapitalisation raised by the industry has been addressed. The KZN DoT has started the process of amending the National Land Transportation Transition Act 4 of 2000 to address the 2006 deadline linked to the Recapitalisation roll out.

The department is also reviewing, within the industry leadership, the future organizational structure of the industry. At the completion of the review, the department will conduct fresh elections at regional and provincial levels. These decisions are currently being communicated with the taxi structures throughout the province.

The regional leadership of the taxi industry is going back to its membership to gather more information as to the members who have not yet been granted permits whilst they have submitted their applications to the licensing board. A committee has been established comprising the taxi industry and government authorities involved, to expedite the processing of applications should it be found that there were outstanding permits that were supposed to have been granted to members.

The Public Transport Law Enforcement Unit (PTEU) of the department will in the meantime focus on vehicle roadworthiness and general road traffic violations. 

Further, the KZN Transport MEC S'bu Ndebele will have a meeting with the taxi industry leadership, both KWANATACO and the Concerned Group, on Thursday after which there will be a detailed media conference to outline the latest progress in this regard.

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