The Gaborone Taxi and Local Bus Service Association (GTLBSA) members are up in arms over what they call illegal operation and are threatening to protest if the matter is not resolved. They threatened to strike yesterday only to call off the boycott after consultations with officials at the Ministry of Works and Transport.
Chairperson of the association Gibson Matenge, said the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) made their decision without consulting with the GTLBSA first. "The same PTA called us for consultations on the matter last year and we advised them not to engage a private transporter as that might take up most of our clients who are the students," Matenge said. He said that during the day they are not that busy as the students make 95 percent of their customers. "The students have to compensate for the loss we make during the day. That is why we told them that if they put another player in the field it would disrupt our business. They went ahead and awarded that tender without consulting us and we are wondering why there was so much secrecy around the whole matter," Matenge said.
