COMMENT: Crackdown on kombis should go on until there is sanity in city

POLICE in Bulawayo should be commended for taking action against the chaotic kombi crews that had turned the city into an eyesore.

In an operation targeting the kombi crews and pirate taxis operating illegally, the police impounded 300 vehicles.
Kombi crews and some transport operators had turned the city, once revered for its orderliness and cleanliness, into a chaotic scene as they park anywhere they want to pick and drop off passengers.

Roads such as 6th Avenue Extension and Herbert Chitepo street from 5th Avenue to 11th Avenue had become un-trafficable and no-go areas for ordinary motorists as kombi crews have turned them into mini-ranks.

While 6th Avenue is the perfect exit road for motorists using the city-Luveve Road, some had abandoned the route opting for longer routes such as driving using the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road and turning just before Mpilo Central Hospital to reconnect into Luveve Road in Mzilikazi near Emachipsini.

So bad was the situation that Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Judith Ncube recently confronted the usually violent and unpredictable kombi crews operating illegally at 6th Avenue and told them not to block the roads at the same time urging them to operate legally.

Kombis

We commend the police for launching their operation targeting the chaotic kombi and pirate taxi crews.
Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube said the “madness” by kombi crews and pirate taxis to park their vehicles wherever they so wish in violation of road rules should stop.

He urged members of the public to avoid pirate taxis as they put their lives in danger due to their reckless driving.
“Don’t rush to mshikashika for the sake of going home early because at times you might not even arrive,” said Insp Ncube.

He said some of the vehicles are involved in robbing, raping, and harming members of the public in Bulawayo.

“We have good evidence that some have been arrested after being found carrying stolen property, having been involved in rape cases and robbery cases. Women boarding unsuspected vehicles are raped. So, we call upon everyone in Bulawayo to come on the side of the police and fight this madness,” said Insp Ncube.

It is our hope that the police would continue with such operations until sanity is finally restored in the city.

Article Source: The Chronicle