By Sharon Tatenda Magodyo
Zimbabwe. – THE Harare Residents Trust (HRT) appreciates the proposed return of the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (ZUPCO) on the city`s urban routes. This promises stiffer competition among transport operators, and increases the choices available to the travelling public. While at it, it is also very critical to think of where all the commuter omnibuses operating on our roads in the cities will go when the ZUPCO buses are reintroduced. Government’s intervention must not only be to take over the market share without competition and oust other business operators. But its intervention must be to widen the choice for the people.
The HRT represents people and cares for the vulnerable, marginalized and less privileged and therefore it will stand and lobby to ensure that every citizen is treated fairly.
The process of phasing out kombis is still in progress. The HRT would want the Government and whoever is pushing for this phase-out process to seriously consider the livelihoods of the kombi crews and the kombi operators. Livelihoods are seriously threatened in all this. Government must think deeply about other industries that depend on the kombi business before they execute their plan.
Instead, the municipal authorities should be focused on creating new parking spaces for kombis and find better ways to decongest the central business district without altering the forms of revenue generation for the businesses involved. They should also go further to invest in the expansion of existing parking infrastructures in order to accommodate more kombis and private vehicles.
The City of Harare has come up with an alternative by establishing a parking bay at Coventry Road, just opposite the Kopje and Colcom Company. The question that arises is on whether this was done with the input of the kombi crews and operators in order to develop a working system that is beneficial to the municipality, the travelling public and the kombi operators. Because if the initiative benefits only one of the parties involved then it will fail.
Zimbabwe’s industries have closed and people are facing socio-economic hardships resulting in some resorting to the kombi business for sustenance. This business has become a battlefront for the police and kombi operators with each accusing the other of flouting traffic regulations and corruption or bribes.
The planned return of ZUPCO on our urban routes does not immediately translate to reduced congestion. The convenience of the travelling public should be on top of the priorities of the planners within the Government and the City of Harare. When coming up with interventions, decision makers and policymakers must clearly identify root problems and address them rather than recreate the problems in a different context.
The HRT will continue to complement the efforts of public service providers but will not stand by while citizens’ needs are undermined.
Comments
About Author
