Gibela Namela Holdings and Jozi My Jozi Sign MOU to Strengthen Johannesburg's Taxi Industry

Gibela Namela Holdings, a City of Johannesburg taxi industry body, and the citizen-led non-profit Jozi My Jozi have signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen Johannesburg's minibus taxi industry. The agreement, signed on 7 August 2026, commits both organisations to a programme of rank upgrades, driver support and technology-led operations across the city — changes commuters should feel at the ranks they use every day.

The partnership follows 18 months of discussions between the two organisations and operates under Project Unite, one of Jozi My Jozi's Public Transit Revitalisation programmes.

Four programmes for ranks and drivers

The MOU sets out four programmes:

Together, the four projects cover the two sides of the industry commuters encounter most directly: the condition and safety of the ranks themselves, and the wellbeing of the drivers who operate from them.

Technology at the centre

Technology is explicitly named as central to the partnership's Smart Mobility Transit model. Rather than treating rank upkeep, security and driver development as separate efforts, the model ties them into structured, technology-supported operations — a shift away from ad hoc improvements toward systems the industry can maintain over time.

"The taxi industry has the knowledge and the reach. Our role is to work alongside it to build systems that strengthen the industry over time," said Innocent Mabusela, CEO of Jozi My Jozi.

Themba Gcabashe, Business Development Executive at Gibela Namela Holdings, said the organisation expects the agreement to reach well beyond the initial projects. "We believe this partnership will derive many valuable initiatives that change the landscape of this extensive industry going forward."

City backing

The City of Johannesburg's transport department officially supports the partnership. Lutando Maboza, the city's Executive Director for Transport, attended the signing — a signal that the four programmes will proceed with the city's backing rather than alongside it.

What it means for the industry

The agreement brings an industry body, a citizen-led non-profit and the city together behind a single set of defined projects — a structure the partners say is designed to strengthen the industry over time rather than deliver once-off fixes. How the four programmes are rolled out at Johannesburg's ranks over the coming months will show what that structure can deliver for the commuters who move through them daily.