Taxi bosses in the Western Cape are committed to working towards ending the violence that has plagued the industry.
The commitment was made at a meeting in Khayelitsha on Wednesday, where the newly elected leadership of the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) in the province was introduced.
Violence linked to a rivalry between taxi associations, the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (CATA) and the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (CODETA) in Cape Town, has resulted in the deaths of numerous taxi bosses and drivers.
The deadly shootings are believed to stem from ongoing disputes over taxi routes between the two organisations.
The new provincial leadership of SANTACO was elected at its elective conference at the end of last month.
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The leadership said its mandate was clear: to ensure that firearms were not used to resolve disputes within the industry.
Newly elected chairperson Besuthu Ndungane said the violence affected not only those directly involved in conflicts but also commuters.
“A clear message is that let’s not take laws into our own hands. Let’s allow the partnerships that we’ve formed with government to find a solution and nobody must take the law into their own hands, we still have an obligation to be law-abiding citizens,” said Ndungane.
He also announced that a peace summit would be held soon to chart a future for the industry.
Ntuthuzelo Nene
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