By Louise Cook

Road safety authorities and the police are clamping down on minibus taxis in Cape Town and Durban that have been illegally converted from panel vans - and are regarded as dangerous.

National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) acting chief executive Moses Moeletsi said on Friday that he believed the problem was not confined to the two cities.

He said he was concerned that the practice could threaten passenger safety during the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

Asked if any of the taxis were transporting people during the Confederations Cup, Moeletsi said: "We are not sure. We suspect it's happening on a large scale everywhere in the taxi industry because the converted taxis are sold at lower prices.

"This is highly irresponsible and we have asked the police to do an investigation to see how widespread it is."

Moeletsi said all models of panel vans were involved and motor builders fitted seats and accessories into the vans so that they could be used as taxis to transport passengers.

He warned motor builders who were illegally doing this that the vehicles would be suspended from the eNatis system until the NRCS had "satisfied itself of the implementation of a corrective action plan".

United Taxi Association Forum spokesman Ralph Jones said the forum had received no official complaint.

He said taxi safety issues were the responsibility of all stakeholders in the industry, including authorities that issued roadworthy certificates, and the SA Bureau of Standards.

"If there were any safety problems, all the role-players in the industry would work together to sort it out. How did these people get roadworthy certificates, for instance? We can only look into it when we know exactly what the problem is," he said.

Meanwhile, all models of the double- and single-cab X-Space and Hafei Loda, sold by a franchise in the new car sector, have been recalled after the NRCS found several non-compliant features on the vehicles.

The franchise Gonow Auto SA has several branches throughout the country, with its head office in Boksburg, according to its website.

The NRCS has declared the X-Space and Hafei Loda unsafe, and has asked owners to take their vehicles to their nearest Gonow dealer to have work done to the rear fog lamps and have side indicators fitted on to mirrors, among other things.

The NRCS has ordered the company to remove both the rear fog lamps and indicator lamps and ensure permanent disconnection of the electrical wiring leading to the lamps.

Gonow Auto SA chief executive Chris Asmal conceded that the vehicles failed to comply with the legal requirements, but disagreed that it affected the safety of the vehicles.

Playing down any danger to passengers, he said the company had been working with authorities for the past two-and-a-half months to fix the problems.

So far, faults had been found on 25 vehicles and the necessary adjustments would "literally be a 20-minute job", Asmal said.

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