28 Aug 2025

Pirating and unauthorised public transport operation is a source of concern for licensed public operators.

Speaking during a meeting with public transport operators of the Ramokgwebana-Francistown route recently, Assistant Minister of Child Welfare and Basic Education, Mr Justin Hunyepa said unauthorised operators undermined the formal transport sector, at the same time causing anxiety to the accredited ones.

Mr Hunyepa said while they should be benefitting fully from the transport sector, authorised operators were crying foul that illegal operators were depriving them of the benefits due to them.

“Pirating and unfair competition result in local operators losing business. These illegal activities are an issue of concern and must be addressed urgently,” he said.

He said allegations of some Zimbabwean nationals operating on the route were also worrying because they also pushed authorised operators out of business, especially since local operators could not do the same across the border in the neighbouring country.

Mr Hunyepa said cross border inequality where Zimbabwean operators enjoyed trade freedom in Botswana as they could drop passengers at Francistown while local operators were not allowed to proceed beyond the border needed the intervention of the relevant ministries of the two countries.

He blamed some of the challenges being faced by registered public transport operators on loopholes in the laws of the country, weak enforcement of regulations governing the public transport sector.

Mr Hunyepa thus called for the collaboration of relevant stakeholders in addressing the concerns of public transport operators, and also urged the operators to play a part by reporting to the police illegal activities that were happening in their areas.

He encouraged the introduction of vehicle side stickers for licensed transport operators for easy verification during roadblocks or inspections.

For his part, Ramokgwebana-Francistown road operators chairperon, Mr Chakalisa Segweni said past efforts to address the issue of illegal operators in collaboration with customs officials had not been effective.

Mr Segweni said some of the illegal operators had been working on the route from long back, with some of the vehicles operating illegally between Francistown and Bulawayo bearing Botswana registration numbers while they were being driven by Zimbabweans nationals.

Mr Segweni said most of the illegal operators involved in piracy were using panel vans to transport passengers, alleging further that an illegal taxi rank had been opened between the two borders on no man’s land.

Acting manager of the Botswana Unified Revenue Services at Ramokgwebana Border Post, Mr Service Chipo raised alarm over cases of smuggling of goods in and out of the country, an illegal activity that he said both Batswana and Zimbabweans were involved in.

Mr Chipo said there was also smuggling of goods dented efforts to bring in revenue through the collection of relevant taxes.

He acceded that there was an illegal rank between the two countries, which he said was an eye sore to the border personnel. ENDS