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The Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula.
- Fikile Mbalula has published discussion papers before a lekgotla taxi in October.
- The lekgotla aims to reimagine the taxi industry, where it is a major player in the economy.
- Industry regulation is one of the key topics in the discussion papers.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said the regulatory framework around the taxi industry remains weak and ineffective due to a fragmented approach to law enforcement.
These are some of the topics included in the discussion papers published by the department of transport before the national taxi lekgotla in October.
“These documents released today are not the views of the South African government. Their aim is to ensure that we discuss and reach an agreement by October. We will then disclose the agreement in terms of what was agreed,” Mbalula said. during a virtual briefing on Friday.
READ: Mbalula and Black Business Council start talks for the formal taxi industry
One of the discussion papers deals with regulation and focuses on key issues to address the regulatory framework for the industry.
“It is a sad reality that the taxi industry continues to operate as an informal sector, on the fringes of the formal economy,” said Mbalula.
‘Unstructured’
“For the most part, it is not structured along legally recognized business units, such as companies or cooperatives. There are cases where some operators have joined and registered companies and cooperatives, but this is not the general nature of the industry.” .
Industry regulation documents also delve into the subject of government officials, traffic officers, and police who own taxis.
“Their involvement in the industry fuels violence and undermines law enforcement, as they are prone to intervene to protect their associations or friends,” he added.
Furthermore, the document addresses the current fragmented approach, which is based on the ability of the provinces to enforce public transport laws, as well as the “weak support of the South African Police Service (SAPS)” and how that creates a culture of impunity.
The debate also attempts to address the challenge posed by the prevalence of illegal operators, with an estimated 63,000 out of 200,000 taxis in the country operating without operating licenses.
Finally, attention is being paid to the issue of regulation of e-mail services.
“The National Land Transportation Law that establishes the regulatory framework to regulate email services has been approved by Parliament and is now before the president for approval,” Mbalula said.
The transport department will engage with stakeholders and civil society through various platforms next week.
“We invite all South Africans to contribute to the conversation about building the taxi industry of the future,” concluded Mbalula.
