SA news
MEC for Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure, Jacob Mamabolo, has welcomed a court order aimed at keeping the peace in taxi operations in the Johannesburg CBD. 
The High Court successfully granted the MEC an interdict against the Johannesburg Minibus Taxi Association from preventing, intimidating or interfering with the taxi operations of the Johannesburg Bara Qwa-Qwa Transport Services Taxi Association at the city's taxi rank.
"As of 1 July 2020, the Johannesburg Minibus Taxi Association has prevented the Johannesburg Bara Qwa-Qwa Transport Services Taxi Association from using the Johannesburg Taxi Rank on corner Lewds and King George Street," said the Gauteng Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure Department.
In a statement on Thursday, the provincial department said minibus taxis belonging to the Johannesburg Bara Qwa-Qwa Transport Services Taxi Association were expelled by heavily armed men, who occupied and took over control of their taxi rank.
Mamabolo tried to intervene by having a meeting with representatives of both associations and even offered the parties a mediator to assist in resolving the matter.
However, his efforts were futile as the Johannesburg Minibus Taxi Association rejected his call for a truce.
The MEC has described this order that was granted on Tuesday as a "victory for stability in the taxi industry and the commuting public".
Throughout, the MEC pleaded with the Johannesburg Bara Qwa-Qwa Transport Services Taxi Association not to take matters into its own hands and retaliate. This was because the MEC was going to approach the courts for an intervention.
The MEC has commended the taxi association for showing full confidence in negotiations and the rule of law.
"It was thanks to the maturity of the leadership of the Johannesburg Bara Qwa-Qwa Transport Services Taxi Association that we avoided the CBD of the City of Joburg becoming a war zone, which could have threatened the lives of members of the public, commuters and taxi operators," said Mamabolo.
The MEC has urged all parties to respect the law, especially the court order granted.
He further urged leaders of the taxi industry to appreciate that the period of armed gangs and guns parading at taxi ranks is a thing of the past.
The MEC has also called on taxi industry leaders to begin a transition to the new normal of a gun-free taxi industry.