UPSET KOMBI OWNERS LOSE 90% BUSINESS

MBABANE – Kombi owners who have taken a heavy blow from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown say they are losing 90 per cent of income each day.
The kombi owners say the negotiations for compensation from government would be of help, if the state were to extend a lifeline worth half of what they are losing each day.

This is because the terms of the partial lockdown were to the effect that all kombis should not carry above nine passengers, which is part of the social distancing principle that requires people to be a metre away from each other. The number was only increased yesterday afternoon to 70 per cent.

curfew

The government spelt curfew also states that public transport should not operate between 9am and 3pm.
The partial lockdown also dictates that people should stay in their homes and go to town if they are an essential service or in need of essential goods.
Musa Dube, an owner of kombis operating between Manzini and Ntabamhloshana said on a daily basis, after refuelling, each of his kombis was making between E800 and E1 000 on a busy day. Rough calculations show that each kombi rakes in about E20 000 per month. During the days of the lockdown, he said this had been greatly reduced to about E150 per day at most.

He said if government were to compensate local kombi owners, he would appreciate a compensation of at least E10 000 for each kombi per month.
compensate

Given that the total number of kombis operating at the Manzini and Mbabane bus ranks are about 3 000, a rough estimate by Eswatini News shows that the implication is that government would have to part with about E3 million just to compensate local kombi owners.

Meanwhile, Dube said he was well cognisant of the fact that the restrictions on public transport were necessary for the flattening of the curve of infections, but said something had to happen to ensure that businesses survive.

He said in the absence of the compensation, most of the owners had already negotiated with employees to settle for half pay.

pessimistic

“Though the negotiations for compensation are still ongoing, we are very pessimistic because the state has no money. We are happy that government has spoken to the banks with a view to convince them to halt loan repayment. That is a positive step because the defaulting on loans can further plunge us into further debts in arrears.”

Dube said public transport owners did not want to spread COVID-19, which is why they were complying with all the government restrictions and regulations.
Another prominent Kombi owner Sibusiso ‘Criminal’ Dlamini, who operates a fleet of kombis servicing the Mbabane/Manzini route, said he had suspended half his fleet, something that impacted negatively on his business.

compare

“We are losing 90 per cent of the business if we compare daily takings this week, to what they were before the lockdown. My main worry is why are people prohibited from boarding public transport when they are going to town after 9 am. If one is supposed to start work at 2pm, does that mean he has to be in town by 8am and linger around until it’s time to start work.

‘‘If shops are open, then surely the public transport should be allowed to operate,” he said.
When asked on the progress in negotiations for compensation, he said he lost track of progress in such meetings because even the members of the National Road Transport Council, which is spearheading the talks, were unknown to him.

The Chairperson of the NRTC, Sihlangu Nhlabatsi, said modalities for the compensation were still being deliberated upon, and that the Ministry of Public Works and Transport would issue a statement in due course.
The Minister said yesterday that talks were still in progress and had not yielded any fruit as yet.
passengers
In Mbabane it was said that atleast 31 645 passengers enter the Central Business District (CBD) by public transport per day, while 31 075 leave the CBD per day.

The modal split between bus and kombi is 9 per cent and 91 per cent respectively. There are currently 814 permits issued in combination for non-scheduled kombis, taxi cabs, school bus, staff bus, freight (goods) transport, tourist permits and scheduled bus.
Meanwhile, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo said this week that there was still no plan in place for the compensation of public transport owners.

He advised companies to take advantage of the Central Bank’s measures for financial institutions to consider reduction in discount rate, which will see the cost of debts reduced by one per cent. He also said those businesses requiring short-term financial support should approach the banks.

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