Durban - An ANC recommendation that the government bar private security companies from guarding taxi ranks and instead use the SAPS has been welcomed by the troubled taxi industry.
At a press briefing in Durban on Thursday, ANC provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala said police should be stationed permanently at taxi ranks, instead of heavily armed private security guards, who allegedly often took part in the violence to protect the interests of certain operators.
“The police must take full responsibility for creating a peaceful environment in all areas,” he said.
Zikalala was reacting to a shooting at the Brook Street taxi rank in Durban two weeks ago in which three people were killed.
He said that like any public place, taxi ranks affected by violence should be policed by the SAPS.
“We say government has a responsibility to protect the public by taking over and removing private security companies at taxi ranks.
“There should be unity between SAPS, the Department of Community Safety and Liaison and affected municipalities in ensuring that ranks which need security are guarded by the police,” he said.
Zikalala said the matter was discussed during the provincial executive committee meeting in Durban on Monday.
The KwaZulu-Natal Taxi Alliance generally welcomed the recommendations, but expressed certain reservations. Its chairman, Henry Mbatha, said the government should meet taxi industry representatives to discuss various challenges, including corruption of police officers.
“I think what he (Zikalala) says might make a difference, but I have a problem when he says police should be stationed permanently, because this violence is not permanent. There are security companies who create instability in the taxi industry because they want to keep their business.”
He said commuters and taxi employees would be uneasy in an environment where police carrying firearms were stationed permanently.
He said some of the police were “not clean”.
“Some of them own taxis. We don’t need a situation where people would get used to a certain policeman at the taxi rank and even leave their grocery with him. That person might be corrupted. Police should be rotated,” he said.
South African Taxi Alliance secretary Bafana Mhlongo said the government had for years been failing to honour its promise to deploy police at taxi ranks.
“Taxi associations turned to private security because government does not do what it should be doing. There are no police at the taxi ranks despite an agreement years ago.
He said regulating the taxi industry, and registering all taxi associations would end the violence.
“Regulating the industry would ensure that associations do not occupy ranks that do not belong to them.”
KZN Community Safety and Liaison spokesman KwaNele Ncalane said the government had already started to take over problematic ranks through the municipalities.
“In Newcastle, the taxi rank is now taken over by the municipality. Municipalities are the ones who are doing this by employing private security companies instead of these companies being employed by the taxi owners.
“We cannot have private security guards carrying big guns and not accountable to the government.”
He said the department was negotiating with the eThekwini Municipality to provide security at problematic taxi ranks. The taxi industry was paying for the service through taxi rank levies.
The Mercury