Soweto taxi routes will reopen next week following violent clashes

The Gauteng provincial government will reopen taxi routes on June 18 in Soweto, after the routes were closed following violent clashes earlier this year.

This comes after the Nancefield Dube West Taxi Association (Nanduwe) and Witwatersrand Taxi Association (Wata) signed a peace deal.

They agreed to stop violence while the Gauteng roads and transport investigates possible duplicate registrations on the taxi routes. The department expects the investigation to take three to four months.

Gauteng roads and transport MEC Jacob Mamabolo said on Tuesday morning at the signing ceremony at the Hector Pieterson Memorial in Soweto: "Our country is known the world over for the 1994 negotiated settlement. This agreement is a product of negotiations that we started in the past two weeks … We cannot resort to violence and the killing of innocent lives when we face challenges."

The routes were closed on March 15.

Former Gauteng roads and transport MEC Ismail Vadi said at the time: "It is necessary to shut down their minibus taxi services for the safety of commuters and residents of Soweto."