MEC for Public
Transport and Roads Infrastructure Jacob Mamabolo has promised that Gauteng Provincial
Government will deal decisively with perpetrators of violence in the taxi
industry.
This after the
MEC had consultations with a number of stakeholders, including leadership of
Olievenhoutbosch community, law enforcement agencies and the Judicial
Commission of Enquiry into Taxi Violence, in a bid to find an urgent and
lasting solution to problems facing the community in the Tshwane Metropolitan
Municipality.
‘As government
we will not allow blatant lawlessness to claim the lives of innocent commuters,
who are reliant on this service for their commuting needs. We will defend the
taxi industry for which these permits are meant, however, we will isolate and
deal decisively with those hellbent on perpetuating violence and capturing the
taxi industry’ stressed the MEC. 
He has
expressed his dismay following the murder of five people in the area, in what
is believed to be violence linked to minibus taxis.
The MEC has since
sent his condolences to families and loved ones of those who lost their lives,
while wishing those wounded
a speedy recovery. 
One person was
shot dead in the early hours of Monday, 02 December 2019, while three others
were wounded in a shooting. Later, at around 19h00, four people were gunned
down and six others wounded.
Condemning the
violence, the MEC said ‘we will not tolerate taxi operating licences issued by
government to be used for cold-blooded murder activities, deliberately
targeting taxi drivers and marshals who are ordinary workers, whilst some taxi
owners are enjoying and feeding from blood-money in their safe havens’.