Taxi drivers in Kabwe, who are mostly Patrtotic Front (PF) youths, are infuriated by District Commissioner (DC) Patrick Chishala’s insistence that they should paint their pirate taxis blue and have them registered with the Road Traffic and Safety Agency (RTSA).
The drivers have threatened to stage a major protest because the DC was part of the PF government that promised them jobs and has allowed vendors to sell their merchandise from the streets.
The taxi drivers are angry because the District Commissioner had insisted that they should stop operating pirate taxis and he further directed them to paint their cars in blue.
The District Commissioner had issued a notice that pirate taxi drivers should stop being unruly by operating illegal businesses.
He said the authorities should not condone illegalities being perpetrated by the taxi drivers, much to the chagrin of the youths.
But the taxi drivers have not received the District Commissioner’s warning kindly, warning that they would only stop pirating taxis once the government created jobs.
One driver Mwamba Chanda said the pirate taxi drivers regret what was happening because the PF promised them jobs but was now back peddling on its commitment.
“The PF, which we supported strongly has now forgotten about us. We ditched the MMD because of the good message they gave us and we followed the promises for more jobs. The president has allowed street vending because there are no jobs, but how come the District Commissioner is now asking taxi drivers to paint the cars when we do not have money to do that,” he said.
Another pirate driver Lloyd Lombe said the PF will lose considerable support from the youth if they continue fail to deliver jobs and more money in the people’s pockets.
Lombe said President Sata had allowed street vending to continue because he had not yet provided jobs for the people and the government authorities in Kabwe must not antigonise the Head of State.
He said there was no way the pirate taxi drivers could leave their operating spaces without being given a grace period to organize themselves.
“It is very difficult to get a drivers licence. It is because of the rampant corruption that we experience among traffic police officers and RTSA officials,” he said.
Lombe said life was hard in the former mining town and the government must sympathyse with the youth who are trying hard to fend for a better life.
He said it was clear that no jobs would be created for the youths under the PF government, hence the authorities must relax conditions for doing business.
“We have lost hope for jobs being created under the new government. People now are just being industrious and the government must help such people instead of making things hard,” he said.
Recently, more than 500 taxi drivers staged a protest in Kabwe against traffic police harassment. The taxi drivers marched the District Commissioner’s office and demanded for an audience with him so that he could explain why the police were impounding their vehicles. The drivers blocked the great north road and burnt old tyres in the central trading district of Kabwe. The drivers openly fought with the police where teargas canisters were fired. Some plain clothed policemen were assaulted by the angry mob of irate youths.
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