Chronicle Editor
ON Monday, Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Judith Ncube confronted rowdy kombi crews operating along 6th Avenue Extension.
Minister Ncube had to disembark from her official vehicle and put kombi crews who had blocked her way in their place.
The minister was on her way to Lobengula Street where Bulawayo City Council (BCC) was carrying out a clean-up exercise dubbed the “Big Spring-Cleaning Week”, which runs until the end of week.
Council has identified 35 sites which have been declared an eyesore in the city due to dirt, but the traffic situation is no better.
The area between Fort Street and Herbert Chitepo Street along 6th Avenue has become untrafficable due to the congestion caused by kombi crews.
Along Leopold Takawira Avenue, buses plying intercity routes are picking up passengers at Central and Centenary Parks, attracting vendors in the process.
The solution is simple: We need a reliable and modern public transport system. Kombis have outlived their lifespan. They are no longer relevant.
The buses plying intercity routes also have to make way for a better managed public transport system which should include a reliable train service.
Kombi and bus operators have proved that they do not respect their customers, the cities they operate in and the Government that is licensing them.
They should all lose their licences, save for a few luxury coach operators. They have made enough money and are now tired of following simple regulations.
Also, licensing authorities have been too generous. When are kombis and buses plying a particular route enough? Competition has led to operators evading regulated termini and bus stops.
A ban is the only way out of this public transport mess.
At the height of the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, Government banned private kombi operators and decreed that all public transporters in urban centres should be registered under the Zupco ambit to bring sanity to the transport sector. Only Zupco registered buses and kombis were allowed to transport commuters in terms of Covid-19 prevention regulations.
However, in July President Mnangagwa gave private commuter operators the greenlight to operate following Zupco’s failure to cope with demand.
This is when the chaos started again. While we commend Government for capacitating Zupco, more buses are needed and the revival of the National Railways of Zimbabwe is critical. The transport sector cannot be left in the hands of a mafia. That is what current kombi and bus operators are a mafia.
They are a mafia that is defacing our city of Bulawayo and making disorder the order of the day.
Minister Ncube must not tire. Bulawayo cannot be surrendered to a mafia.
Speaking during the clean-up campaign on Monday, Minister Ncube said the redevelopment of Egodini Mall is expected to address the issue of congestion in the city.
Well, we can only hope so. Kombi and bus operators don’t seem to want to operate from regulated areas anymore. Ban them minister, ban them!
Online Reporter