Western Cape MEC warns CATA and CODETA over Cape Town taxi violence - IOL

Two taxis were shot at on the R300 near Samora Machel as taxi-related violence continues to affect Cape Town.

Western Cape Mobility MEC Isaac Sileku has warned taxi associations CATA and CODETA to end the violence gripping Cape Town, as the provincial government prepares to meet the associations and industry body Santaco to find a way out of the ongoing dispute.

Sileku has called on the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (CATA) and the Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association (CODETA) to resolve their differences, following a week of taxi-related tensions and shootings in Cape Town.

The Department of Mobility is expected to meet the two associations and the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) today to address the recent spate of killings.

Sileku said the violence at Delft taxi rank on Wednesday should never have been allowed to happen and pledged to increase law enforcement visibility at identified hotspots to protect commuters.

“What we saw yesterday at the Delft Taxi Rank should have never been allowed. What we are going to do on our side as the department of mobility is to make sure that all the hotspots that have been identified have been identified. We will ensure there is always law enforcement visibility. At the end of the day we need to protect the lives of our commuters,” said Sileku.

Sileku said disputes in the taxi industry repeatedly involved the same two associations, despite the province having eight taxi regions.

“Out of the eight taxi regions we have in the province, whenever there is an impasse in the taxi industry it is always CATA and CODETA. We are going to be dealing with them, because what is happening in our province is not acceptable,” he said.

He said both associations would meet with his team and would be expected to emerge with solutions to the dispute.

Sileku said the shootings and killings had to stop, warning that he would use the measures available to him if the associations failed to resolve the impasse.

“They must agree that the shootings and killings are going to come to an end. Others if they can't do that I am going to take whatever measures and mechanisms I have under my control to deal with them. For the sake of our commuters.”

The meeting comes as authorities respond to a shooting on the R300 on Thursday morning that was believed to be taxi-related. Emergency medical services and City enforcement officers were at the scene, and the road was temporarily closed while police and enforcement teams worked to reopen it.

Alderman JP Smith, the City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, said City enforcement officers remained on high alert and that patrols around public transport interchanges had been increased.

Smith also warned residents about misinformation circulating about tensions in the public transport sector, including reports of a strike.

“SAPS and City enforcement are working to get the road open as quickly as possible,” Smith said.

“Our enforcement services remain on high alert, ready to assist the South African Police Service where needed.”

Police spokesperson Thembakazi Mpendukana said Delft police had opened two attempted murder cases and a case involving the discharge of a firearm after a shooting at the Palm taxi rank on Wednesday morning.

Two adult men were wounded and taken to hospital in a private vehicle. No arrests had been made, and investigations were continuing, Mpendukana said.

The Department of Mobility has said it is investigating whether the taxi associations involved have the legal right to operate on the affected routes. It has also called for stronger visible policing at affected ranks and on contested routes.

Sileku said protecting commuters’ lives must remain the priority as authorities work to address the dispute.