Operation Shanela to slow down until temporal permits are issued

Operation Shanela must slow down its clean sweep in the taxi industry pending the completion of the process of issuing temporal permits, KZN MEC for Transport, Mr S’bu Ndebele has told the taxi industry.

But the unit will always be there to protect the public from violent confrontation amongst taxi operators whenever it is necessary to do so.

Mr Ndebele pointed out that it had been brought to his attention that there had been a delay in the issuing of permanent public transport permits within the Department’s transportation board.

"We cannot keep on prosecuting the taxi industry if the problem of them getting public permits is being delayed by administrative challenges on our part as a Department," he argued.

"There is a problem there because if the vehicle is not permitted to be on the road, yet the taxi operator has a monthly instalment to pay for the vehicle, then how do you expect him or her to pay for the vehicle that sustains his or her family in the first place?

Ndebele said that his Department was issuing temporal permits for those people who had been accepted by the associations and possessed ranking permits. Whilst the Department is waiting for public objections after publishing the operator in the Government Gazette, let the operator do work on the road whilst waiting for the permanent permit, he added.

The Minister concluded: "There can be no doubt that we need the special law enforcement unit to monitor the challenges of illegal taxis, and route pouching – that is non-negotiable. But we also have to be realistic and take into account what is happening with regards to the process of issuing permits because it takes long."

back