KwaZulu-Natal transport MEC Bheki Cele warned Nongoma taxi operators that he would not allow them to resume operations if they failed to resolve their bloody conflicts.
“We will not allow them to start operating if they do not talk and resolve the conflict. We are protecting our people who also end up being caught up in their conflicts,” he told hundreds of people in Nongoma on Sunday.
He threatened to shut down taxi operators for up to six years if they failed to end their dispute.
“They can resume operations in the next few hours if they end the violence,” he said.
Cele suspended taxi operations in Nongoma last week after three operators were killed. He made the decision because feuding operators had threatened to shoot at taxis carrying passengers.
Seventeen people had been killed since April in taxi feuds in the area.
The MEC said buses had been provided to transport people in the area.
Cele was expected to meet taxi operators in Nongoma on Monday.
[ Report from SAPA]
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