Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba on Tuesday said the City was not targeting only minibus taxis in its "Operation Buya Mthetho", saying that the campaign was about enforcing the rule of law as the rules of the road were mandatory for all.
Speaking at a media briefing during the inspection of unroadworthy vehicles impounded at the metro police department's compound in Wemmer, Mashaba said that it was crucial that road users adhered to the rules of the road.
"Operation Buya Mthetho is not an onslaught directed or targeting taxi drivers but at any unroadworthy vehicle on our roads," Mashaba said.
Mashaba also found that one of the vehicles at the compound had a Cape Town registration but a Malawi license disk. Over 60 illegal dumper trucks have also been impounded since the beginning of the campaign.
On Monday, thousands of public transport commuters were left stranded in parts of Johannesburg after taxi drivers from the Alexandra Taxi Association went on strike in protest against the impounding of their unroadworthy vehicles.
On Sunday, the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) said it had impounded more than 500 minibus taxis since Operation buya Mthetho began.
The taxis were found to be in very poor condition, with some displaying license discs which had expired as far back as 2012 while others showed fake discs from newspaper clippings.
Taxi bosses affiliated to 11 associations vowed to intensify their strike against the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) if their concerns were not taken seriously, and were discussing the option of a national shutdown if authorities don't respond positively to their grievances.
But public safety MMC Michael Sun said that the JMPD will not be bullied by taxi association to condone lawlessness.
- African News Agency (ANA)
