Paulina Ndalikokule
OSHAKATI – An attempt to crack down on illegal taxis in Oshakati was halted after the town council decided to cancel registration of taxis in accordance with the Local Authorities Act and the Road Traffic and Transportation Act, a day after its announcement.
Council spokesperson Katerina Kamari yesterday told New Era in an interview they were told to cancel the public notice, and not comment on the issue.
“My dear, that thing was stopped by politicians,” she said.
The council announced on Monday that taxis at Oshakati would need to register with the town council from 1 July to continue operating within the town’s jurisdiction.
Every taxi at Oshakati was to be required to have a visible registration number for easy identification purposes, and to weed out illegal taxis from the town.
For the mandatory registration process taxi owners were being charged a registration fee of N$150. Other requirements are a driver’s licence from the taxi operator, a public transportation permit from NaTIS, and a vehicle registration certificate.
The council was certain that the exercise would give taxi operators access to official taxi stands, make taxis easily identifiable, and prevent crime as well as the operation of illegal taxis.
“Ensure your taxi is legally on the road and enjoy the benefit of being a registered taxi operator at Oshakati,” the notice had read.
Namibia Bus and Taxi Association national chairperson Pendapala Nakathingo told New Era the council’s decision to register taxis was made prematurely.
“People should be careful not to make rushed decisions, especially in an election year where we are voting for the president,” he said.
Nakathingo said the council’s decision was right ,so that they could consult Nabta and other stakeholders involved, including taxi drivers and the public. He added that Nabta needed to be consulted because they had the initial idea to register all taxis in the country.
He said the industry faces challenges such as illegal transporting, and renting illegal permits at high costs despite Roads Authority last year announcing that renting out of public carrier permits is illegal, and that those doing so risk getting prosecuted.
He said it is illegal to have many permits, and holders of the road carrier permit are not allowed to enter into an agreement with any other person to rent it out. However, they keep applying for permits from the transportation board, citing reasons that their cars are broken, their permits got lost, and so on. They then end up with many permits of the same name, which they rent out to other people.
Some taxi drivers told this reporter they were disappointed with the council’s decision, emphasising that they were supposed to at least be given a trial period.
“It could’ve helped us from being labelled robbers and kidnappers, and to distinguish us from people operating illegally and taking away our customers,” a taxi driver who prefered anonimyty said.
Oshakati mayor Leonard Hango in media reports on Monday said the decision was taken after the council realised that almost every sedan vehicle in the town was a taxi.
“Criminals are taking chances by using sedans as taxis to rob residents. Robbery cases have increased a lot. That is why we decided to come up with the idea of introducing big numbers for taxis,” he said.