By ROGERS KALERO
BUS operators and pirate taxis must ensure that they operate within the law and pay the necessary fees to the Road Traffic and Safety Agency (RTSA) and the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) to avoid running away from the traffic police,” Kitwe Mayor Mpasa Mwaya has said
Ms Mwaya said most buses operators and pirate taxis colleagues were always running away from the traffic police or RTSA because they were operating illegally hence the local authority had embarked on an engagement programme so that they could understand the importance of operating within the law. She was speaking in an interview during an engagement meeting with Noah buses operators and their pirate taxi colleagues at Sacred Heart Parish of the Catholic Church in Kitwe
She said the meeting was held to engage the Noah buses operators and Pirate taxi drivers on the importance of operating within the law to avoid running away from the Traffic Police and RTSA
“As Mayor of the city, I would have used the council police to get rid of you from wherever you load or operate from, but I thought I should engage you so that we can be moving in the same lane. This is why I decided to bring the ZRA and RTSA.
“As a leader, it was always important to engage people before you take any action. So I would like you to operate within the law. This means paying the necessary fees to ZRA and RTSA. If you do this, you will not be running away from the police, but you will be doing your job freely,” Ms Mwaya said
Ms Mwaya said the city of Kitwe was being labelled a ‘dirty city’ without sanity because of the challenge of solid waste management and the lawlessness of the Noah bus operators
She said she was hopeful that after an engagement meeting , the Noah buses operators would appreciate the importance of operating within the law and start re-aligning themselves
“When you start following the law and start to re-align yourselves, things will be much easier and together, we will make Kitwe a better place to live in. Yes, because there will be sanity in the way we will doing things,” Ms Mwaya said
