27 Feb 2020

The Department of Road Transport and Safety in conjunction with the Botswana Police Service and Botswana Unified Revenue Services conducted a two-day operation in Jwaneng to check compliance by motorists.

Southern region regional inspector Mr Emmanuel Makuruetsa told BOPA in an interview that the operation which was from Wednesday to Thursday started in Kanye and the intention was to cover the whole region.

He said so far the operation had revealed that there was a high rate of non-compliance by the motorist, especially commercial, public and staff transporters for various companies as well as by those who transport school children.

“These four that I have mentioned have a tendency of overloading. We are most disheartened by those that transport school children because kids cannot complain when they are overloaded, unlike adults,” he said.

He said public transporters, especially the minibuses commonly referred to as sprinters were speeding while some were also often found with some passengers standing on the aisle, which was against their permits regulations.

Mr Makuruetsa also said that public transporters had a tendency of failing to complete their routes as they often made U-turns to go back to the starting point, especially when they realised that they left many commuters waiting.

The other challenges they observed during the operation, he said was the use of expired licenses or lack of, expired permits for public transporters as well as the use of unroadworthy vehicles.

Motorists welcomed the operation, albeit with mixed feelings.

One of them, Mr Tshephang Morgan who transports staff indicated that although the operation was welcome and necessary, officials should consider setting it during the day or in the afternoon when people knockoff and were not time-constrained.

Another motorist, Mr Ian Smith also said that the operation was very valuable to both the driver and the public.

“It’s important to make sure that drivers are licensed and vehicles are roadworthy, and as a driver, it also gives you confidence knowing your vehicle can take you from point A to B,” he said.

Mr Smith, who indicated that he encountered the operation twice already, said that the road safety message that the officials shared with motorists was also very handy. ENDs