Inter-city travel is still banned unless the traveller has
exceptional circumstances that allow exemption, with permission given in
advance, but truck drivers and unexempted kombis are reaping huge profits
charging high fares.
This flagrant flouting of rules has seen the
Inter-ministerial Taskforce on Covid-19 calling for a behavioural change among
Zimbabweans if the nation is to win the fight against Covid-19.
At the inception of the Covid-19 lockdown in March, the
Government suspended intercity travel and banned all long-distance buses from
operating.
This was to ensure that infections in hotspots could at
least be isolated in one centre.
Only haulage trucks ferrying and distributing goods in
essential and exempted businesses are permitted to travel from one city to
another, and even beyond borders.
But some truck drivers, probably not supervised by their
employers who should have their own insurance reasons to ban passengers, are
smuggling passengers who are not exempted to travel during the Covid-19
national lockdown.
Trucks have become a form of public transport, and kombi
operators are also on intercity routes. Only the large buses have been pulled
out, many now under contract to Zupco on routes wholly within a single town or
city.
Covid-19 Inter-Ministerial Taskforce spokesperson Minister
Monica Mutsvangwa called for behavioural change among Zimbabweans and reminded
the nation that Covid-19 is real.
She said intercity travelling is still banned and the law
enforcement is doing a lot to stop the illegal activities.
“It is a serious issue and the law enforcement is doing a
lot about it. Also we are saying as Zimbabweans we need to seriously think
about our health. People should not just wait to be seen by a policeman to wear
a mask. People should not be afraid of a policeman to get into trucks where you
know there is no social distance, no hygiene and when you actually know you
should not be travelling.
“Look at the spiralling numbers of local transmissions. We
cannot continue like that as Zimbabweans, so there is a lot which is being done
by sub-committees in the taskforce.
“We also need Zimbabweans to change, it’s a question of
behavioural change because what we are dealing with here is real.
“Covid-19 is real and it will wipe us if we are not
careful,” Minister Mutsvangwa said.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul
Nyathi warned those breaching the intercity rules that they will be arrested.
“What they are doing is an offence. Officers have been
instructed to arrest these people who violate lockdown regulations. We have
also information that some of them are operating in the middle of the night,
putting themselves and passengers at risk of the virus. I can assure you that action
is going to be taken,” he said.
Asst Comm Nyathi reminded the public that Government has
made it clear that intercity travelling is banned.
He said if there are any members of the security team
conniving with truckers and kombi operators in the ferrying of people
illegally, they too will be arrested.
Truckers and kombi operators say they must charge high
fares to cover bribes for police officers. Typical was a commuter omnibus
driver illegally plying Harare-Nyamapanda highway. Acting as a commuter, The
Herald reporter approached the commuter omnibus loading passengers along Samora
Machel Avenue, opposite Holiday Inn.
The hiking spot which is now being controlled by touts, was
full of hikers, with some going as far as Nyamapanda. The particular kombi’s
destination was Mutoko.
The conductor of the kombi said a journey to Mutoko would
cost US$6 for those with exemption letters and US$2 extra for those without
authority to travel.
“It’s US$6 from here to Mutoko for those with exemption
letters, but if you do not have one, you pay an extra fare of US$2 so that we
can pay the security personnel on roadblocks. There are two roadblocks along
the highway which are very strict, so its easier to pass through when one has
money.
“However, they are very strict especially when we are
heading for Harare than going to Mutoko. However, either way, they would demand
exemption letters and we give them money for those without letters.”
A driver of a Toyota Wish was soliciting passengers to
Rusape and Mutare along Robert Mugabe Road and was demanding US$10 for a trip
to Mutare.
A few metres from the Toyota Wish, a commuter omnibus was
loading passengers to Marondera and charging US$3 per head.
Both operators were not concerned on whether their
passengers were exempted or not. Some of the passengers in the kombi had no
masks.
The situation was the same at Exhibition Park (still known
as Showgrounds in common speech) where people illegally wait for transport to
Bulawayo and other towns like Gweru, Kadoma and Kwekwe.
One of the hitch-hikers who intended to travel to Gweru
said he came to Harare to make some orders for his vehicle spare parts shop.
The hiker who refused to be named said it was difficult to
come to Harare rather than going to other towns and he always carries extra
money which he uses to buy his way through roadblocks.
At the popular Mbudzi Roundabout haulage truck drivers
could be seen loading people going to destinations including Beitbridge and
Masvingo.
The hiking spot is now controlled by touts who announce the
fares.
Some unexempted kombis were ferrying people to as far as
Masvingo, some to Chivhu while others were heading for Mhondoro.
Asked how one could pass through roadblocks all the way to
Beitbridge, a haulage truck driver said most of the times he was not stopped at
roadblocks.
He, however, said when they are stopped, he buys his way
through.
A conductor of a commuter omnibus plying the Harare-Chivhu
road echoed similar sentiments to those of the haulage truck driver, and added
that those without exemption letters always pay an extra fee which will give
them a free passage at any roadblock.
Meanwhile, Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage
Kazembe Kazembe added his weight to the pleas for sensible behaviour and asked
the public to help provide evidence of corruption by individual police
officers.
“We appeal to the general public to observe the lockdown
regulations. It is for their own good . This is no longer an issue for the
police alone. It’s about saving our own lives. We all have to act responsibly.
We need to curb the spread of this virus. Covid-19 is real and we have lost
prominent people in the last few days.
“I don’t know how else we are suppose to realise that this
pandemic is real and we need to act now. About people jumping into trucks or
crowding in kombis, we urge the public to desist from that as they are putting
their lives at risk. While the police are expected to do their job let’s all
take this pandemic serious .
“We urge the public to report any suspected cases of
collusion between the police and those that are breaking the law. With
technology these days it’s easy to provide evidence as people can use their
phones to record. On the other hand supervision and monitoring of road blocks
and those manning them is being intensified.
“No one is above the law. Any police officer who is found
on the wrong side of the law will be arrested. We urge the public to report any
cases of corruption. We should not just talk about corruption in the media. We
should all play a role in eradicating it. Let’s police each other and ensure we
report the cases and provide evidence.” Herald
0 comments:
Post a Comment