08 Dec 2022

The widespread piracy in the public transport sector is not only taking legit transporters out of business, but has also turned violent.

Speaking during a stakeholder engagement workshop in Gaborone, Wednesday, the director of Roads Transport and Safety (DRTS) Mr Bokhutlo Modukanele said such violence and sabotage would be not tolerated.

“We are aware that public transport continues to be bedeviled by acts of sabotage such as piracy, which sometimes escalates into violent acts,” he said.

Mr Modukanele said it was regrettable that illegal operators wanted to dominate a legalised industry, saying such actions would never be allowed to happen.

The DRTS director stated that sometimes the public transport employees were attacked and subjected to verbal abuse by illegal operators.

Notwithstanding such, he said public transport industry faced several issues of concern from members of the public.

He complained about, amongst others, unkempt drivers and conductors, both in scheduled routes, combis and taxies, as well as the use of improper language when addressing passengers and failure to adhere to departure times and sometimes arrivals.

Other concerns, he said included operators involved in corrupt practices with DRTS officials to get services such as road worthiness certificates.

“Some of the observations raised above are true and cause for concern,” Mr Modukanele said.

He said the country was a destination for many nationals for various errands including tourists and also served as transit for many nations going in different directions to other countries.

Furthermore, he said as such public transport operators and their employees were the public face.

For his part, Senior Superintendent Kebalepile Kepadisa of Botswana Police Service said public transporters were core to the country’s economy, saying one accident affected too many people.

However, he said the public transport accidents were not alarming, adding that in 2021 there were 17 277 road accidents, 764 of which accidents involved public transporters.

He said in the same year, eight people lost their lives while 40 were seriously injured, adding that some of the victims were wheelchair bound while others had lost their jobs.

As for this year, he said already close to 20 people had lost their lives to road accidents involving public transporters, adding that most cases were caused by speeding and unlawful overtaking.

For their part, public transporters called for more efforts to address pirating as well as review the laws governing public transport so as to address problems in the industry. ENDS