SA Insurance Crime Bureau to crack down on fraud pertaining to issuing of taxi permits

JOHANNESBURG - The South African Insurance Crime Bureau (SAICB) has been roped in to assist the Gauteng Department of Transport on issues of fraud and corruption in connection to issuing permits to taxi associations.  

There are claims that the department is to blame for an ongoing dispute between the Nancefield Dube West Taxi Association (NANDUWE) and the Witwatersrand African Taxi Association (WATA) in Soweto.  

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The decade-long rivalry has been triggered this week following protests by members of NANDUWE in Soweto.  

This followed a high court order that ruled in favour of WATA last week pertaining to certain highly profitable taxi routes in the area that have been under contention for the past decade.  

According to the NANDUWE and WATA taxi associations, their decade-long feud began when a junior official from the Gauteng Department of Transport signed off on an operating permit back in 2015, without being authorised to do so.  

Responding to the claims of fraud and corruption within her department, Gauteng MEC for Transport Kedibone Diale-Tlabela confirmed they were addressing these issues.  

“There have been fraudulent activities done within the department. We have called upon the South African Insurance Crime Bureau to assist us with the investigation. I’m still waiting on the report.”  

She outlined the application process for obtaining an operating permit: “Before you get a permit, the application passes through around 27 hands. It’s an unnecessary back and forth.”  

She said they plan to fast-track digitalising this process to eliminate elements of fraud within the department.