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- A town near Butterworth has an unused taxi rank, which cost R7.6 million to build, but is yet to be functional.
- Law enforcement advised that the transport hub should remain unopened due to potential taxi violence.
- A taxi association chairperson said the municipality had failed to do the necessary maintenance on the facility.
Ngqamakhwe, a town near Butterworth in the Eastern Cape, received a brand new taxi rank in 2021. It took more than two years to construct and cost R7.6 million - but it is not in use.
The spokesperson for the Mnquma Local Municipality, Loyiso Mpalantshane, said the rank was handed to the taxi associations, but police and municipal law enforcement advised them not to open it due to taxi wars, GroundUp reports.
There are three taxi associations, each based in nearby towns: Ngqamakhwe, Centane and Butterworth.
Mpalantshane said most incidents were related to fights over routes - and, between 2021 and 2022, about 20 people were killed in taxi-related violence.
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"As the municipality, we really want this taxi rank to be used. I was there last week, the grass is now starting to grow," he said.
But taxi issues are ongoing.
"You find that those transporting people from Butterworth to Ngqamakhwe are now not allowed to transport them back to Butterworth; only a taxi from Ngqamakhwe is allowed, and the same with the route between Centane and Butterworth," he said.
The chairperson of the Ngqamakhwe taxi association, Phumzile Jwathi, confirmed they had received the keys to the rank from the municipality, but said they had been waiting since 2021 for the municipality to install lights and a rail for the sliding gate, and also to fix the doors and the fencing.
Jwathi said:
He said there was a great need for the taxi rank because of the many small villages surrounding Ngqamakhwe, but taxi associations would not accept an unfinished rank.
Last week, GroundUp visited the rank.
It was still in good condition. However, fencing not far from the entrance was broken, and it was easy to get inside.
Mpalantshane said the fence had been hit by a bakkie.
Currently, most taxis use a small rank on the main road, which causes serious traffic congestion, especially on days when social grants are paid.
The councillor for Ward 18, Lunga Dyantyi (ANC), said the municipality was aware of the rail for the gate and would fix it.
