Lesego Motsumi was responding to the complaints raised by the Gaborone Taxis and Local Bus Service Association (GTLBSA) who had objected to buses ferrying passengers from villages around Gaborone and dropping them off at their work places instead of the main bus rank.
GTLBSA, through its chairperson Gibson Matenge, complained that their routing system was being interfered with by the buses that come into the city from outlying areas.
After Motsumi's response, GTLBSA members suspended their services, forcing most commuters to walk long distances to their places of work yesterday.
However, in her response, Motsumi explained that most people who use public transport in Botswana are in the low-income bracket, with some even being unable to rent houses in Gaborone. She said that if a decision were made that the passengers be dropped at the bus terminus, they would be compelled to pay P5 to P10 every day depending on their destination in Gaborone in addition to the fare from their homes to Gaborone. "This will have an adverse impact on their take-home income and their standard of living. I strongly believe that government's efforts should be to contribute to developing the well-being of citizens rather than taking decisions that are detrimental to them," Motsumi said. She revealed that technically, long distance transport operators who drop passengers at various intermediate points in Gaborone are not breaching any law. The minister said that "the law does not give directions" as to which roads or streets a bus should use in a particular town or village to arrive at its destination. She gave the example of a designated route such as Ramatlabama-Lobatse-Gaborone-Mahalapye-Palapye-Francistown. "For the purpose of regulating the industry and for the determination of fares, administrative procedures were developed to the effect that certain streets should be designated to be routes for various operations and that all operations should terminate at the bus terminus," Motsumi asserted.
The minister stated that the practice of the buses going through town has been there for many years. She confirmed that twice in 2000 and 2001, attempts were made to stop buses from dropping passengers at intermediate stops but the decision was reversed due to public outcry because of the incovenience caused to commuters. She said that the "decision was made in the public interest in accordance with the law and circumstances that influenced it still prevail".
On getting the response, Matenge called on the suspension of the services as from midnight on Sunday. He indicated that while he sympathised with their customers, who would endure the pain of the suspension, "it is in their interests to be given service that is not combined with piracy, as this may compromise their safety.
"We understand the challenges and difficulties that may come with this decision, therefore we are putting together a comprehensive programme that would bring this problem to an end," Matenge said.
