Kamogelo Seekoei

Kamogelo Seekoei

The Ekurhuleni Regional Taxi Council (ERTC) wants Gauteng's former transport MEC Khabisi Mosunkutu to return to the hot seat.

In an interview yesterday, the council said MEC Mosunkutu had succeeded in reducing the violence during his tenure because of his robust approach and because he carried out every threat he made.

Mosunkutu is now MEC for agriculture and environmental affairs and said it was not up to him to decide what he wanted to do.

"I take instructions from the premier," he said.

"My colleague in the transport department is doing his best to stop the violence."

He said the government had to use all the tools at its disposal to stop the violence and make it costly for warring operators by making it difficult for them to earn a living.

As MEC he used to close down routes where there was violence.

"This really worked."

Mosunkutu said law-enforcement agencies had to ensure that operators complied with the rules.

"There are operators who are in the business to do business and there are those who operate with a gun. Those people should be sorted out."

MEC Ignatius Jacobs said he had demonstrated commitment to stop taxi violence by engaging with different stakeholders in closed meetings.

"Yesterday we had a ceremony thanking a driver for his bravery and we also had a cleansing ceremony at the Bree Street taxi rank [in central Johannesburg. It is through interactions like these that we publicly engage with the various stakeholders and try to understand their challenges," he said.