Pretoria - While the EFF’s Dr Mbuyiseni Ndlozi took flak on social media for warning against “sending vigilante groups” to guard the malls, the DA in Gauteng has praised taxi drivers for their role in safeguarding shopping centres against threats posed by looters.
Ndlozi was criticised on social media after he warned against “sending vigilante groups” to guard the shopping centres.
“Mzansi do not celebrate taxi drivers, owners, Indians and white militia groups being in charge of ’public order policing’ during a public riot. They are not law enforcement officers; they are citizens like us! Don’t give this tendency credibility; it’s dangerous!” he tweeted.
Some people who reacted to the tweet believed it sowed division among the public, while others said Ndlozi was correct.
Looters went on the rampage last week in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, and ransacked shopping malls and stole groceries, furniture, appliances and other items.
On Saturday the DA chief whip in the Gauteng legislature, Mike Moriarty, commended the taxi industry for taking a stand against looting and destruction of property.
He said he had reached out to leaders of taxi organisations who vowed to protect malls from attacks and looting.
This was after the South Africa National Taxi Association took the stance that the taxi drivers must protect the shopping malls against looting mobs. Moriarty said: “I congratulated these leaders and their members. We discussed the importance of all peace-loving South Africans to stand together to protect our communities and businesses from violence and looting.
“We also hold the view that the law enforcement agencies need to do more to protect lives, property and the economy.”
He cautioned that those who looted may have thought they were enriching themselves while they were in fact contributing to joblessness.
He said: “When more jobs are lost and businesses close, nobody wins – not even the looters.” The DA called on the SAPS to bring the instigators and perpetrators to book.
“They (the SAPS) have the capacity and must use their resources more effectively. Further, it would be to the benefit of South Africans that the SAPS engage and partner with the growing swell of civic-minded people and organisations who are taking a stand,” Moriarty said.
He is the latest politician to sing the praises of taxi drivers after Gauteng MEC for Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure Jacob Mamabolo expressed his gratitude to the industry.
Mamabolo said most taxi ranks were located in and around commercial sites and shopping malls and operators transported the workforce and customers to these sites.
Pretoria News