A BULAWAYO High Court judge has stripped the Zimbabwe United Passengers Company (Zupco) of its monopoly in the public transport business.
Justice Evangelista Kabasa said COVID-19 lockdown
regulations which saw private public transport operators being restricted from
providing services was unlawful, irregular and invalid.
The ruling was triggered by an application by Tshova Mubaiwa
Transport Co-operation Limited challenging the Zupco monopoly after its members
were ordered to stop operations in line with COVID-19 regulations.
In the application, Tshova-Mubaiwa cited Vice-President and
Health and Child Care minister Constantino Chiwenga, Commissioner-General of
the Zimbabwe Republic Police Godwin Matanga, Local Government minister July
Moyo and President Emmerson Mnangagwa as respondents.
In her ruling, Justice Kabasa said: “It is ordered that
section 4(2)(a) of the Public Health (COVID-19) Prevention, Containment and
Treatment (National Lockdown) Order 2020 be declared unlawful, irregular and
invalid and is hereby reviewed and set aside and the first respondent to pay
the costs of suit.”
Tshova Mubaiwa Transport was represented by Josephat Tshuma
from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).
Commenting on the ruling, the ZLHR tweeted: “We have
stripped the State-run @zupcobus of its widely-despised monopoly in the
transport sector by outlawing
legislation which caused a domination for Zupco to provide bus and commuter
omnibus transport services to passengers across Zimbabwe.”
Government has been insisting that private commuter omnibus
operators remain banned unless they join the Zupco franchise. Newsday
0 comments:
Post a Comment