( 3 minutes read)
· Zambia’s Road Transport and Safety Agency ( RTSA) together with local councils have been accused of causing losses to the government in millions of Kwacha in revenue due tom lax regulatory framework
· The Bus and Taxi Owners’ Association of Zambia maintains that the overwhelming number of pirate taxis are the cause of this dilemma and calls on authorities to take immediate measures to address the shortcomings
· If a tax is identified as a pirated one more than three times, the owner would forfeit the ownership of the vehicles.
Zambia’s Road Transport and Safety Agency ( RTSA) together with local councils have been accused of causing losses to the government of millions of Kwacha in revenue due to lax regulatory framework.
The Roads and Road traffic Act clearly states that taxis should be metered to ensure transparency in charges for the convenience of the general public. But not many taxis follow this stipulation taking the travelling public for a ride. The Bus and Taxi Owners’ Association of Zambia maintains that the overwhelming number of pirate taxis are the cause of this dilemma and calls on authorities to take immediate measures to address the shortcomings.
There is a law that prevents the pirating of taxis but the regulators are reluctant to enforce them. The Association of Taxi Owners representatives say the authorities are aware of what the law says about this Act and what should be done when it is violated but have chosen not to take any action. There are measures including fines that can be used to regulate and streamline the traffic including running of pirated taxis such as: if a tax is identified as a pirated one more than three times, the owner would forfeit the ownership of the vehicles. Yet, it is alleged that authorities look the other way.
