VEREENIGING – Vereeniging taxi operators are threatening to return to the streets if their demand to finish an incomplete taxi rank are not met.
Gauteng police spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo said the group was arrested in Vereeniging after its members refused to disperse from the roads they had barricaded. Masondo added that the taxi operators became violent when police ordered them to vacate the roads and allow traffic to flow.
About 80 people were arrested after drivers shut down the city, with 40 of them appearing in court on Friday, however the charges of public violence were provisionally withdrawn.
While there was jubilation outside the court, prosecutors made a plea that police continue with the investigation.
Meanwhile taxi operators are waiting for Gauteng Premier David Makhura to address the incomplete taxi rank. The Gauteng government says two of its departments are working on trying to speed up the taxi rank project.
Masondo promised that various police units sent to the Vaal would continue monitoring the area until calm was restored. The Vaal Triangle has been brought to its knees since Tuesday night by 12 angry taxi associations that blockaded all roads leading into and out of the area, including neighbouring townships.
People who have been arrested will appear in court for charges of public violence.
