Transport Director General Alec Moemi said government committed to a plan that includes the formalisation, regulation and empowerment of the taxi industry.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula speaks at the Western Cape taxi lekgotla in Cape Town on 15 October 2020. Picture: @MbalulaFikile/Twitter
CAPE TOWN – The National Taxi Lekgotla has wrapped up.
The three-day event got under way in Joburg on Thursday with an address by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
A declaration was adopted to tackle the challenges confronting the industry. It follows lengthy discussions among taxi bosses and government.
Transport Director General Alec Moemi said government committed to a plan with time frames that includes the formalisation, regulation and empowerment of the taxi industry.
He hopes to bring all taxi associations and metered taxis and e-hailing cabs under a single, unified council.
Moemi said another focus is subsiding the minibus taxi sector.
“The Lekgotla believes that we should provide subsidy to the taxi industry as an integral part of the economic model aimed at ensuring long-term sustainability of the industry.”
It’s a tall ask for an industry long plagued by violence and a disregard for the law.
