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Taxis 'run by mafia, hit men'
06/09/2005 22:46 - (SA)
Clive Ndou and Sapa
Cape Town - The taxi business is run mafia-style with a culture of lawlessness where hit-men reign supreme and a licensing body is fraught with corruption.
This is according to a report published on Tuesday by a commission that investigated violence in the Western Cape industry.
Meanwhile, the Western Cape government announced on Tuesday it would intervene immediately in the industry, including the establishment of a dedicated force to investigate taxi warlords.
The commission on taxi violence was instituted by Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool three months ago, after a breakout of taxi violence in the province that left several people dead.
The report, presented by commission chair Dumisa Ntsebeza singled out the prevalence of hit squads as the main cause of violence in the taxi industry.
"They are hired by the older generation of drivers to commit acts of murder against rivals," reads the report.
Recruited hit men
"The older, more-experienced owners are usually responsible for selecting the targets and planning the logistics.
"They also are responsible for recruitment of the hit men and collecting money to pay for these services."
Despite collecting an average of R500 000 in operator-subscription fees on a weekly basis, taxi associations didn't have any form of accounting system in place.
Because of this lack of accountability, taxi association bosses were able to abuse funds and, in many instances, used thousands of rands for bribes and paying for hit men, said the report.
It also raised the question of millions of rands in unpaid taxes owed to the Receiver of Revenue.
The provincial operators' licence board (Polb) was also found to be contributing to instability in the industry.
The commission accuses Polb civil servants and board members of extortion, irregular issuing of licences and corruption, and calls for a complete overhaul of the board.
Despite having gathered evidence against the perpetrators of violence in the taxi industry, Ntsebeza said suspects wouln't be charged immediately.
He said the evidence would be used by law-enforcement agencies in building up cases against those whom the commission suspected of being behind taxi violence in the province.
"This evidence lays sufficient basis for future prosecution," he said.
60 people named
Rasool said the transport multi-disciplinary investigation unit would investigate tax evasion, the existence of hit squads, links to organised crime and allegations against state officials of corruption.
A confidential annexure, containing the list of about 60 people, ranging from police officers to taxi drivers and government officials, was handed to Rasool for priority attention.
Ntsebeza said an overhaul of the government organs was needed, to which Rasool agreed, and that an independent auditing firm conducted an investigation complementing an internal forensic audit already undertaken.
- SAPA
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