South Africa: Gauteng Taxis Could Shut Down Next Week

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a Scrolla report from Johannesburg dated 21 July 2026, reported that Gauteng’s main taxi bodies have warned of a possible province-wide shutdown if Premier Panyaza Lesufi does not step into a dispute with Roads and Transport MEC Kedibone Diale-Tlabela within seven days. The warning came from SANTACO Gauteng and the Gauteng National Taxi Alliance, which say their relationship with the MEC has deteriorated sharply.

According to the report, the organisations accuse Diale-Tlabela of sidestepping elected provincial and regional taxi leadership by holding meetings directly with individual taxi associations. SANTACO Gauteng spokesperson Graham Fritz said the industry’s objection is not to the MEC engaging operators, but to doing so without the recognised leadership structures being included. The groups also said requests for meetings with the MEC on 29 June and with Lesufi on 10 July had not received responses.

Diale-Tlabela rejected the view that the relationship had broken down, saying she remained willing to meet while continuing her department’s work. The taxi bodies said that if their concerns are ignored, they may organise a protest march to deliver a memorandum to the premier.

The potential disruption matters because the taxi industry says it carries more than 60% of Gauteng’s workforce each day, meaning a shutdown could affect commuters and economic activity across South Africa’s most populous province. Scrolla noted previous tensions involving the department and the industry, including a two-day strike in Ekurhuleni over impounded vehicles and later threats linked to rank closures after taxi-related violence in Soweto.