Upgrades to Polokwane taxi rank delayed for months
Polokwane municipality says R36-million project will be completed by March 2026
The Indian Centre taxi rank in Polokwane, Limpopo, has been under construction for several months now. Taxi operators want it completed immediately. Photo: Bernard Chiguvare
Taxi operators in Polokwane are demanding that upgrades at the Indian Centre taxi rank in the city centre be completed.
Construction at the site started around May 2024 and was expected to be completed by May 2025 by contractor Iceburg Trading, according to Polokwane municipality spokesperson, Thipa Selala.
The upgrade, costing over R36-million, is now expected to be completed by March 2026.
Members of the Seshego Taxi Association say drivers and passengers have been forced to collect commuters at a temporary taxi rank at SABC Park.
“We have received reports of passengers, including learners, being mugged,” said Takalani Nemaungani, chairperson of the Seshego Taxi Association. He said at Indian Centre there were security guards employed by shop owners monitoring passenger safety.”
Nemaungani said mobile toilets at the temporary rank are not cleaned regularly. The municipality denied this.
When GroundUp visited the Indian Centre, scores of people were queueing in the rain for taxis to Thohoyandou. They were redirected by marshals to taxis at the temporary rank.
Informal traders at the Centre say they have lost income. “We have temporarily moved to new locations, and our usual clients get lost,” said a vegetable seller from Greenside Extension 71. “Before the upgrade, I made about R500 per day, but that has dropped to around R300.”
Selala said construction of the new rank had started three months late because of negotiations with businesses, taxi associations and hawkers at the Indian Centre. A refusal by taxi organisations to vacate the site to allow construction to proceed had also delayed the project. He said the municipality had asked the contractor “to accelerate the work”.
The municipality had installed high-mast lighting at the SABC Park to increase security.
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