Johannesburg - The driver of the minibus taxi involved in an accident in which 11 people were killed in Mpumalanga must face harsh penalties, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said on Monday.
“I am calling for a harsh penalty, with no bail of the driver who allegedly was in possession of a fake driver's licence,” the minister said in a statement.
The taxi owner should also be held be responsible for hiring a driver without verifying his credentials.
“The taxi associations and council must take action,” Peters said.
The provincial community safety department said on Friday that apart from the 11 killed, six others were injured when the taxi and a truck collided head-on on the R23 between Perdekop and Standerton.
Eleven people died on the scene on Friday afternoon when the minibus they were travelling in failed to stop at a “stop and go” construction site, spokesman Joseph Mabuza said in a statement.
The driver of the taxi, who at the time of the accident did not have right of way, continued to drive on in the single lane road.
“The driver skipped the 'stop and go' operation and collided with the truck,” Mabuza said at the time.
On Sunday, the department said the taxi driver had been arrested for having a fake driver's licence.
Peters said the crash was being investigated by the transport department, Road Traffic Management Corporation, and the provincial government.
Apart from determining the cause of the crash, the investigation would look at ways to prevent future accidents from taking place.
The minister sent her condolences to the families of those killed and wished those injured a speedy recovery. - Sapa