Chiwenga lifts ban on commuter operators

Commuter Omnibuses

VICE-PRESIDENT and Health and Child Care minister, Constantino Chiwenga has lifted the ban on all licensed commuter operators with immediate effect, ending the Zimbabwe United Passenger Company (Zupco) transport monopoly.

In March 2020, when Zimbabwe implemented its first COVID-19 lockdown regulations, government banned all public transporters, except for the State-owned Zupco buses and affiliated carriers.

Chiwenga said the ban was meant to enforce public safety protocols to reduce the spread of the respiratory virus.

In Statutory Instrument (SI) 213A of 2022 issued yesterday, Chiwenga announced that transport services that carry passengers are no longer restricted.

“The Health minister has, in terms of section 8(1) of the Public Health (COVID-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) Regulations, 2020 (published in Statutory Instrument 77 of 2020), made the following order: Transport services, whether intra-city or inter-city, for the carriage of passengers shall no longer be restricted to the transport services mentioned in section 4(2) of the Public Health (COVID-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (National Lockdown) (No 2) Order, 2020) (“the principal order”), published in Statutory Instrument 200 of 2020, and all laws with respect to the licensing of those services that were in force immediately before the commencement of the principal order shall recommence in force with immediate effect.”

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