The Gauteng Legislature Roads and Transport Portfolio Committee has welcomed the conclusion of the Commission of Inquiry probing taxi industry related violence in the province.
The Commission was appointed by Premier David Makhura in September 2019 to investigate, report, make findings and recommendations on issues plaguing the sector. These included the underlying reasons for the recurring conflict, violence, fatalities and instability within the minibus taxi-type service industry in the province.
According to the committee, the report is detailed in its findings and has clear recommendations for implementation.
“The committee would further like to urge the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport and Community Safety to swiftly implement the recommendations made in the inquiry in order to curb the continued violence and other challenges experienced in the taxi industry,” the committee said in a statement.
Acting committee chairperson, Petrus Mabunda, said: “The success and efforts made this far – from setting up the commission of inquiry to its conclusion – now rest on the departments concern and their implementation plan. The commission’s recommendations have a profound effect on behaviours and attitudes.”
He said the provincial Department of Roads and Transport should give itself the best possible chance of making changes on the basis of the findings of the inquiry, and it must be held to account for doing so.
The committee said it will on a regular basis play a significant scrutiny and oversight role in holding the department to account on its implementation progress derived from the inquiry report’s findings and recommendations.