DCEC cracks down on dubious road permits
Lebogang Mosikare | Monday December 11, 2023 06:00
According to information gathered by Mmegi, some public transport operators are said to have illegally acquired the road permits in connivance with some unscrupulous Department of Road Transport and Safety officials. Mmegi has also learnt that other public transport operators who are fed up with what is happening blew the lid off their colleagues after they felt that the public transport space in the city is dominated by a few players to their detriment in many ways.
The errant dominant players are said to own many fake route permits which they lease to some of their colleagues at a fee and are said to be rich beyond avarice. “Some of the cars that use these fake permits are not roadworthy and don’t comply with regulatory standards governing road safety which obviously has the potential to put the lives of the public at risk.
We are very concerned about this criminal enterprise between some department of road and safety officers and some errant public transport operators and owners because it will exacerbate the already high number of road traffic accidents if it is not urgently nipped in the bud,” lamented a public transport operator.
In July, there was an outcry after 23 people lost their lives near Marapong turn-off. Following the accident and other accidents that claimed many lives across the country, many people blamed the pot holes riddled roads as one of the major causes of these accidents in Botswana. Now, the latest DCEC investigations within the Francistown area surely show that the dubious acquisition of route permits by some public transport operators acting in cahoots with some transport officers is another piece in the puzzle of why many road accidents are recorded in Botswana.
Wading into the matter, chairperson of Botswana Taxi, Truckers and Bus Association in Francistown, Tymon Matebesi lamented that the dubious acquisition of road transport permits in the Francistown area is a serious cause for concern. “The connivance between some public transport operators and the department of road transport and safety to illegally issue road permits is a serious matter of national concern. For obvious reasons, this means that there are many unroadworthy public transport vehicles that are used by passengers on a daily basis.
This will result in unnecessary traffic accidents that may lead to loss of lives and injuries. The matter you are talking about is not only confined to combis and mini-buses but to taxis as well. Our neighbours from Zimbabwe who transport goods between Botswana and Zimbabwe are also involved in this complex criminal enterprise,” a concerned Matebesi said. An insider privy to the details of the ongoing DCEC investigation in the Francistown area told Mmegi that the graft busting organ is investigating the cases related to the acquisition of dubious road permits by some combi and mini-bus operators.
“The combi and mini-bus operators who have been issued with fake route permits allegedly ply the routes of Tshesebe, Masunga, Mathangwane and many other villages in the North East District. The DCEC has discovered that it is dealing with a cartel. It is dealing with people inside the Department of Road Transport and others outside. This is a broad sweeping investigation.
Right now, over 30 combis and mini-buses have been impounded by the DCEC pending the outcome of investigations,” said the insider. The insider added that the clamp down operation that the DCEC is currently engaged in Francistown is similar to the one that was carried out in Maun in 2017. “In the Maun operation, more than 500 taxis were impounded by the DCEC pending investigations following suspicions that their permits were acquired dubiously. So, what happened in Maun and what is currently obtaining in the Francistown area may be symptomatic of what is happening in the whole country,” said the DCEC insider.
In response to a questionnaire from Mmegi, spokesperson for the DCEC, Lentswe Motshoganetsi said: “I can confirm that the DCEC is investigating issues relating to dubious acquisition of road transport permits within the Francistown area. However, I am unable to divulge further information as the investigations on the matter are still continuing.”