PHASING OUT SMALL BUSES WILL KILL SMALL TRANSPORT BUSINESSES - KANKARA
REMOVING small buses from the road to ease congestion is not viable as Zambia is still a developing country and cannot manage to be killing small businesses such as those small bus operators, Ishmael Kankara has said.
Mr Kankara, the Flash Buses proprietor says while the discussion of phasing out small buses on the country’s roads was not new to Zambia, it could, however, be a good idea in the long run and not in the immediate future.
Mr Kankara said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that it would be insensitive for Government to move to phase out the businesses of small bus operators in an economy that was only growing.
He was responding to an announcement made by the Transport and Communications Minister, Mr Frank Tayali that Government will soon remove smaller buses from the roads to ease congestion in most roads in Lusaka.
This announcement did not surprise Mr Kankara who said the discussion had been there from the time the late President Levy Mwanawasa was still ruling Zambia.
According to Mr Kankara, the phasing out of small buses on the roads was not viable at the moment as Zambia was still developing economy.
“This talk has been going on for a long, long time. It started from Levy Mwanawasa’s time and it could be a wonderful idea, but we are a country still developing. I should call ourselves a middle country not even third world country. We are hoping that everything goes well and in the long run it would be a brilliant idea but for the short term, I do not think it is viable, trust me, not now!” Mr Kankara said.
Mr Kankara pointed out that: “Look, things at the moment… we are paying for debts for the nation. Things are not looking too good but there is hope. There is a lot of hope that things are going to improve and the only thing I can say is let us wait and see.”