The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has granted an order dissolving the current Mamelodi Amalgamated Taxi Association (Mata) executive committee, following a spate of violence, unrest and instability in the township, according to the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport.
In a statement, the department said Gauteng's MEC for Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure, Jacob Mamabolo, launched an urgent application with the court after the violence had claimed the lives of at least 19 people.
Instead, he launched the urgent application and, following the order of the court, Mamabolo appointed Hettie Groenewald as the administrator of the taxi association with immediate effect.
Mamabolo hailed the high court decision as a victory towards the restoration of order and the quelling of taxi violence in the Mamelodi area, and in Gauteng.
"Our intervention ultimately aims at restoring order, ensuring that Mata members are allowed to appoint an executive committee, and to operate in terms of their constitution, instead of operating through the barrel of a gun," remarked Mamabolo.
