Bus strife a headache

Power struggles and a lack of proper structures in the association supposed to represent bus operators are creating headaches for local authorities in the north.Town councils are constantly fighting with bus operators who load passengers in areas that are unsafe or are earmarked for development projects. For many years the Namibia Bus and Taxi Association (Nabta), which is recognised by the transport ministry, has been the body that dealt with bus drivers on behalf of the government, but over the years the public transport sector has become chaotic and it worsens by the day.Local authorities are now forced to do the work of the association but they are failing miserably because the Local Authorities Act does not give them such powers, especially when it comes to making decisions pertaining to the transport sector.Whether it's a big or small town, it faces the same problem of bus drivers loading passengers wherever they want.As the towns' populations grow, the situation gets more out of hand and local authorities are the ones bearing the brunt.Some local authorities such as Oshakati and Windhoek have constructed bus terminals costing millions of dollars but bus drivers refuse to use them.Okahao in the Omusati Region is the latest local council that has decided to take action in this regard.The Okahao town council has erected 'No Hitch-hiking' signs in areas regarded as unsafe and urged bus drivers to move their operations to the bus terminal next to the open market.Prior to the resolution made on Saturday during a meeting with the drivers, there had been five meetings since last year but they proved futile. The bus operators refused to budge, but said they would be prepared to move to a place of their choosing and not one imposed on them.The drivers argue that the majority of their customers are from the surrounding villages and they are used to catching a bus from the place the council regards as unsafe.The further argue that the prescribed bus terminal is too small to accommodate the 77 buses that operate at Okahao.“We are so disturbed by the council's actions because we have had meetings with them and they know what we want. We told them we are not against moving from the current place where we are operating from but they need to relocate us to a place that both parties are happy with and not only them,” the bus drivers collectively said.Okahao town council CEO Timoteus Namwandi said the council was left with no option but to erect the signs because the situation was getting out of hand.Namwandi said the current loading zone was unsafe and many people had complained about it.“It was just chaotic, especially on Sundays, as they cause a traffic jam which we could not tolerate any longer. We need order in town and that is why we took the decision,” Namwandi said.Namwandi said the prescribed bus terminal was constructed in conjunction with Nabta back in 2011.When asked why the council did not address the issue with Nabta, Namwandi said the association was too fragmented and ineffective.He urged Nabta to reorganise itself and regain the trust of bus drivers. “Throughout our meetings the drivers clearly stated that they do not want Nabta or any other association present. This shows you how chaotic the sector is,” Namwandi said.When contacted for comment, Nabta president Vespa Muunda blamed the chaotic situation on the councils not talking to him or his association. Muunda denied the allegation that Nabta's structures were not in order, saying that he had documents outlining its legitimate structure.“If they do not want to engage with Nabta they should expect chaos to follow, just like what is happening at Okahao currently and everywhere else in the country,” Muunda said.Muunda did not deny that there were power struggles within Nabta, but said that was something that happened in every organisation.He said local authorities should engage Nabta if they want to sort out the problem of bus drivers operating in unauthorised areas.“They must just engage us because we know how to deal with the situation,” Muunda said.KENYA KAMBOWE

Bus strife a headache

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Namibian Sun 2025-01-31

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Bus strife a headache

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Namibian Sun 2025-01-31

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