‘Associations must go’
At a meeting in Oshakati, the long-distance bus owners said they want town council to regulate them and want the transport associations gone.
Bus owners operating at the Oshakati Open Market terminal say they want the town council to regulate their activities as they have lost hope under the control of transport and taxi associations.
They have accused the associations of only focusing on collecting money and not addressing their needs.
This was the tone of the meeting which took place at the Oshakati Town Council recently attended by long-distance bus operators and council members aimed at finding a solution to the impasse at the bus terminal.
The bus loading fees at the Oshakati bus terminal are N$150 per load, which the bus owners think should be paid directly into the coffers of the town council, who should then manage it.
Oshakati town CEO Werner Iita told the bus owners that the meeting was called to chart a new way forward. “We are not here to decide on anything but to hear what the problems are. We will go and study your concerns and get back to you as to what our decision is,” Iita said.
The bus owners did not mince their words when they accused the three bus associations, namely the Namibia Bus and Taxi Association (Nabta), Namibia Transport Reform Association (NTRA) and the Namibia Public Passenger Transport Association (NPPTA) for being the cause of the conflicts at the terminal.
This prompted their collective agreement that they want the local town council to take over the responsibility of making sure passengers are loaded in an orderly manner at all times. Out of the 30 people who attended the meeting, an overwhelming 25 against the use of association representatives at the bus terminal.
The associations have been accused of squandering money, favouritism as well as influencing police officers to arrest bus drivers who don’t belong to their associations. One operator Joseph Tashiya took issue with the town council for reportedly allowing certain association representatives to have access to the bus terminal offices.
“I would like to know how the associations got hold of the keys to the offices and why did council never introduce them to us?” Tashiya questioned.
He further said that bus owners were not informed beforehand as to what is expected of them when it comes to loading passengers.
However, the association fired back and accused the bus owners of not wanting to be patient and refusing to follow the procedures and rules that should be adhered to at the bus terminal.
Oshakati Open Market coordinator Thomas Salomon said he was aware of what was happening on the ground, but added that the situation was under control at the moment.
Salomon believes that with council’s involvement things can only get better.
“I think it is good that council is getting involved because it is not a good thing that the bus owners do not see where the loading fees go. You see where there is money involved, there are always problems. The bus owners want to know where the money goes and what makes it worse to them is that they are not presented with financial reports from the associations as to what the money was used for and as a result conflict between the parties start,” Salomon said.
KENYA KAMBOWE
They have accused the associations of only focusing on collecting money and not addressing their needs.
This was the tone of the meeting which took place at the Oshakati Town Council recently attended by long-distance bus operators and council members aimed at finding a solution to the impasse at the bus terminal.
The bus loading fees at the Oshakati bus terminal are N$150 per load, which the bus owners think should be paid directly into the coffers of the town council, who should then manage it.
Oshakati town CEO Werner Iita told the bus owners that the meeting was called to chart a new way forward. “We are not here to decide on anything but to hear what the problems are. We will go and study your concerns and get back to you as to what our decision is,” Iita said.
The bus owners did not mince their words when they accused the three bus associations, namely the Namibia Bus and Taxi Association (Nabta), Namibia Transport Reform Association (NTRA) and the Namibia Public Passenger Transport Association (NPPTA) for being the cause of the conflicts at the terminal.
This prompted their collective agreement that they want the local town council to take over the responsibility of making sure passengers are loaded in an orderly manner at all times. Out of the 30 people who attended the meeting, an overwhelming 25 against the use of association representatives at the bus terminal.
The associations have been accused of squandering money, favouritism as well as influencing police officers to arrest bus drivers who don’t belong to their associations. One operator Joseph Tashiya took issue with the town council for reportedly allowing certain association representatives to have access to the bus terminal offices.
“I would like to know how the associations got hold of the keys to the offices and why did council never introduce them to us?” Tashiya questioned.
He further said that bus owners were not informed beforehand as to what is expected of them when it comes to loading passengers.
However, the association fired back and accused the bus owners of not wanting to be patient and refusing to follow the procedures and rules that should be adhered to at the bus terminal.
Oshakati Open Market coordinator Thomas Salomon said he was aware of what was happening on the ground, but added that the situation was under control at the moment.
Salomon believes that with council’s involvement things can only get better.
“I think it is good that council is getting involved because it is not a good thing that the bus owners do not see where the loading fees go. You see where there is money involved, there are always problems. The bus owners want to know where the money goes and what makes it worse to them is that they are not presented with financial reports from the associations as to what the money was used for and as a result conflict between the parties start,” Salomon said.
KENYA KAMBOWE
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