Chronicle Editor
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Matabeleland South Bureau Chief
STAKEHOLDERS in Gwanda Town have raised concern over the mushrooming of pirate taxis in Matabeleland South’s capital, some of which have been involved in the commission criminal activities.
The unregistered taxis are said to be causing chaos in the Central Business District (CBD) as they pick and drop off passengers at undesignated points. Some commuters have allegedly fallen victim to robbery after boarding the unregistered taxis.
The taxis and some buses have turned Engen Garage in the CBD into their pick-up point thereby causing a lot of commotion.
Gwanda Residents Association secretary-general Mr Wellington Nare said there was a need for operations of public transporters to be formalised to avoid inconveniencing residents.
“We need a formalised public transport system in the town because as it is, there is chaos. Anyone can operate their taxi and when people want to register complaints they don’t know where to go. There have been reports of some passengers that have been robbed by these pirate taxi operators, especially at night and no one can identify them. It will also be ideal if these transporters can operate under designated associations for the sake of accountability and transparency.”
Gwanda Town Mayor Councillor Njabulo Siziba said a number of unregistered taxis were operating in the town and controlling them was a challenge. He said there were designated ranking points for public service vehicles in town which include taxis, kombis and buses but most transporters, especially those unregistered were violating the law. He said council had decided to intensify patrols and issuing of tickets.
“We have places like Engen Garage which transporters have turned to illegal pick-up points. Engen Garage was previously used as pick up points for buses enroute to South Africa. Now we have local buses ranking there and unregistered taxis which is causing a lot of commotion. Council officers continue to monitor these illegal pick-up points but the culprits are playing cat and mouse as they try to avoid paying fines. We plan to intensify patrols and introduce hefty fines which will serve as a deterrent measure.”
Road Motor Transportation (RMT) Assistant Commissioner for Matabeleland South Province Mr Timothy Mungweni said efforts were underway to bring normalcy to operations of public transporters in the town. He said the operator’s licensing authority decentralised its operations to various provinces so that transporters could access the services easily. Mr Mungweni said all public service vehicle transporters were expected to comply.
RMT which is operating under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development is responsible for issuing operators licences, road authorities, foreign operator’s licences, Comesa and cross-border permits. It was operating with two offices, one in Harare and the other in Bulawayo with operator’s licenses being issued only in Harare. The operator’s licensing authority has decentralised its services as part of the devolution agenda. – @DubeMatutu
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