MEC Jacob
Mamabolo strongly condemned incidents of violence where a bus, belonging to
Ipelegeng Bus Services, was allegedly shot at and set alight in Sebokeng in the
Sedibeng District Municipality. 
According to reports,
an Ipelegeng bus driver was allegedly accosted by occupants in four taxis and
two private vehicles in Zone 12, Sebokeng on Tuesday, 20 July 2020. 
Condemning the
violence, MEC Mamabolo indicated that lawlessness in the public transport
sector will not be condoned under any circumstances. He also called on the law
enforcement agencies to speedily bring those involved to book. 
"We are
deeply worried that if the perpetrators of this incident are not brought to
book, we might see a surge in torching of other public transport modes of
transport, something that has the potential to destabilize the province. We
call on law enforcement officials to prioritise this matter". 
He reiterated that
the Department has always opened its doors to all transport operators to raise
issues without resorting to violence.
Addressing
Sedibeng taxi operators at the launch of the Taxi Ranks Support Committees, the
MEC encouraged the local leadership to isolate those involved and assist law
enforcement officials with their investigations.
"Violence
and destruction of property will never resolve challenges as they only serve
to  inconvenience other operators and put the lives of commuters in
danger.The torching of the bus and intimidation of bus operators clearly shows
a total disregard for the rule of law. This should never be tolerated and those
involved have clearly crossed the line. We will ensure that rule of law
prevails and triumphs over the rule of the barrel of the gun" said the MEC.
The bus company
has since ceased operations affecting over 3,500 commuters in Orange Farm,
Evaton, Sebokeng, Meyerton and Bophelong, areas in the Sedibeng District
Municipality. 
MEC Mamabolo
later visited Ipelegeng Transport Trust bus depot where he encouraged the
company to resume operations the next day. 
"We will
not be intimidated by taxi warlords. Taxi associations and their leadership
should renounce the violence and stop intimidating and putting the lives of
commuters in danger. If allegations that taxi operators have a hand in this are
proven to be true, we will not hesitate to put the associations involved under
administration”. 
"The leadership
should assist law enforcement agencies to get to the bottom of this and ensure
that perpetrators of this violence are arrested and prosecuted, "Mamabolo
said. 
The MEC added
that the taxi operators must appreciate competition in the transport sector and
cannot, in any way, force commuters to use their services.
"Commuters
have an unalienable right to choose any mode of transport and exercise their
choice. We call upon the taxi industry to appreciate efforts of building a
gun-free industry and refrain from using killing machines as these end up
harming the very same people that initially brought them into the taxi
industry," warned the MEC.