Operation to address taxi issue in Fourways begins
FOURWAYS – JMPD Officials have begun operations in the Fourways area as the Ward 94 councillor and Public Safety MMC tackle issues.
The Fourways Review previously reported in Taxi rank causes uproar [Week ending 28 June] that Ward 94 Councillor David Foley is in negotiations with MMC for Public Safety Michael Sun over the issues of taxis, littering and hawkers in Fourways.
As part of the ongoing meetings, it has been established that four JMPD officers have been allocated to work alongside Foley.
According to Foley, the officers will work to implement sustainable solutions to better the situation in Fourways. “These are not your standard JMPD officers – they are from head office and they can work tactically, strategically and analyse the situation.
“First of all, we will engage with taxi associations. We can’t just push these taxis away but we will ensure that we take them off the road as they affect other motorists.
“We have further come up with several options and alternatives but we cannot reveal them yet as they are still under discussion. We are not looking at a once-off thing here but sustainability as we set a foundation of resolving the bigger issues. With the upcoming 1 500 JMPD officials to be deployed in October, I’ve insisted that a lot of them be deployed in Fourways.”
When asked as to when the changes will start taking place, Foley said, “In the next month or two we will start taking radical action. There’s a lot to take into consideration – questions like do we need to find land? If that is the case, let’s approach the relevant stakeholders and also other facilities because we need to control the situation.”
MMC for Public Safety Michael Sun confirmed that operations have begun in the Fourways area. “I met with Regional JMPD Commander Michael Smith on Friday 28 June. We discussed the issues currently faced in Fourways and we agreed that we will intensify the operations.”
“In fact, operations were already deployed on Friday (28 June) and he gave me feedback. We will try sustain the operations.”
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