The Western Cape provincial government has a "hit list" of 62 key figures it wants investigated and prosecuted to sound the death knell for corruption, extortion, money-laundering and murder in the taxi industry.
This list was handed to premier Ebrahim Rasool on on Tuesday as part of the Dumisa Ntsebeza inquiry report on the underlying causes of taxi violence.
It includes the names of police officers, taxi owners, taxi association leaders and officials in the Provincial Operating and Licensing Board.
Provincial police commissioner Mzwandile Petros said on Wednesday the police would provide extra security to committee members if they wanted it after releasing the explosive taxi report on Tuesday.
He said intelligence about possible threats would also determine the level of security being implemented around committee members.
So far no requests had been made for beefed-up protection.
On Tuesday, after being handed the report, Rasool established a transport multi-disciplinary investigation unit, led by the police and including traffic officers, the National Intelligence Agency, the South Africa Revenue Service and the special investigative unit of the National Prosecuting Authority.
The unit's terms of reference include:
- Investigation of financial non-compliance, including tax matters, financial accounting and allegations that a "war chest" is collected each time a taxi war breaks out.
- Investigating allegations of "warlordism" and the existence of hitmen.
- Investigating links in the industry to organised crime.
- Investigating allegations of corruption against state agencies and officials.
- A "thorough investigation" into every one of the 62 named in the committee's confidential annexe handed to the premier.
The unit is also the precursor to integrating personnel from law enforcement agencies in a co-ordinated standing unit for the taxi and transport industry.
Rasool said the report had also alerted authorities to so-called war chests - large amounts of unaccounted money within the industry - which indicated tax evasion on a massive scale.
"A further alarm bell is the prevalence of linkages to organised crime within the coloured taxi industry, where taxis are often a source of money-laundering, drug-dealing, prostitution and are at the service of gangs and gangsterism," he said.