MINISTER of Communications and Transport Geoffrey Lungwangwa has announced that the Government has suspended the revoking of a Statutory Instrument that compels Public Service Vehicles (PSV) operators to maintain a stipulated colour code for their vehicles.
According to Zambia National Broadcasting Services (ZNBC) main news bulletin monitored last night, Professor Lungwangwa said in Lusaka that the suspension of the statutory instrument followed numerous concerns from members of the public and would hold consultations with various key stakeholders.
The minister had on Friday announced the abolition of regulation 14A of statutory instrument no 115 of 2000, which compelled public service vehicles operators to paint their vehicles in sky blue colour.
The statutory instrument no 31 of 2011, which was to come into effect 30 days after the date of publication in the gazette,was going to allow operators to paint their vehicles in any color of their choice.
Communication and Transport minister Professor Godfrey Lungwangwa said the removal of the colour code for Public Service Vehicles was going to directly reduce the compliance costs of entry into the business by all PSV operators.
Professor Lungwangwa also said that the move was in response to bus operators and advertising firms request to government to reconsider the colour code so as to exploit the business opportunity of utilizing PSVs as channels of effective information dissemination.
GOOD BOY!
Are you telling me you wanted to alter a statutory instrument without extensive consultation. Ba prof, what is this political salary doing to your brain/ You used to be a thinker and now i hold you in lesser esteem shame on your and your m0nkey friend$.
Shame dawg!~
It was a shockingly daft idea that I have started doubting Prof Lungwagwa’s intellectuyal faculties. You actually don’t need consult to realise that it was a terrible decision. How we can have such a minister in position is just beyond me. Unbelievable. My 2-year old daughter would have made a wiser decision than the entire professor.
This is a shame indeed. Why should the entire Minister go on air to announce the revocation of a Statutory Instrument and to U-turn 2 days later. Surely consultation is always the best approach to such issues. Any way, not surprised at all…this is the arrogance of MMD leaders. The know it all attitude is bad. Just recently, they wanted to sell Government schools and then this. Shame on the Professor and his officers who thought they would pull a fast one on members of the public just to pursue selfish interests.
Good to admit when you have messed up. The Bemba saying “Munshebwa aile nama shinsha kubuko” applies here.
A bit surprising that the Minister did not research i.e. consult the ‘customer’ (the public) of all the people in the first place. And surely adverts can still be put on the minibuses in their present blue/white colours. Research is to a Professor what water is to a duck, so what went wrong? Do not be a rubber stamp.
This is what happens when people substitute political expediency for their brains.An entire Professor wanting to change a law without broad consultation with the people who will be affected by it.All those years in school and you still cannot use your brain.Cheap political campaign strategy without analysing long term and broader impact.These chaps running these minibuses reap long term gains and abnormal profits as it takes only one year or so to recover the cost and make profits on these public buses,beyond that all are gains so what cost are you trying to reduce.Think long term thats why our country cannot develop our politicians are more interested in short term gains than long term developmental issues.
You chaps in GRZ are m a d. The key stakeholder here is the public you failed not consult
Lungwangwa may even be fired this week by RB for trying to change MMD colors. Hope LT will consider changing its blue background color too.
Goog opinion
persuit of votes in wrong areas. the important thing is that each public service transport should have its own identity, all PSV /busses have the disc for identity on the screen. it will make sence to reduce on road tax and identy charge if govt is thinking of supporting this business…change of colour is senseless.bwana former academician.
@So Chabe you are right, even when it comes to advertsing as one of the reasons that was put forward for abolishing the uniform painting of PSVs, adverts can still be done on the blue colour, for example public buses in England are painted red but this has not stopped advertisers putting adverts on them. What government should realise that for any business there are what we call sunk cost and painting of mini buses blue is a sunk const that everyone who would like to enter the public transport business must learn to bear. This is more like suggesting the removal of road tax for mini bus operators in order to reduce compliance costs. let us think through things before making a decisions that affects the national, making decisions based on political mileage will drive Zambia backwards
These guys wanted to use the buses as campaign platforms. William Banda initiative
Professor Lungwangwa ‘ exploit the business opportunity of utilizing PSVs as channels of effective information dissemination’%%-%%-
Consultations kuti?? Don’t lie to us…The government is just afriad that all the buses in lusaka will be painted with PF adverts period!!. We know very well that the guys in the ministry did the consultation as this is required for every SI either issued or removed.
Just admit that you are afraid that the opposition will use the idea to propel SATA to victory..After all, we all know that the bus drivers and conductors are the biggest supporters of SATA and will do anything to see his potrait or advert on their buses….and the idea of having buses painted blue is not that cool.It simply litters the roads.
Thats true.The GOVT is afraid.The Whole lot of a Profesor thinking like a Nkwankwazi.Why do you want to confuse people.Who is tis lungwagwanganga.so Kawiliam this couldnt work.
@ #7 I would like to agree with you that bus owners get back the money in one year but that is assuming the bus owner has zero expenses which is not possible. There are costs like repairs to the bus, buying tyres, servicing of the bus, paying the driver monthly, having the bus painted blue when it just comes in, the daily levies at the bus station, I understand there is a quarterly levy of ZMK 3M also and not to mention considering the depreciation of the bus that arises from wear and tear. So with respect to the costs I have just mentioned, I think your argument is flawed.
And finally these morons realize that they made a blunder. What a bunch of thick lipped goof bags running the country. Shame
The Preofessor has grown bananas in his brain. Why do these politicians act before t
This guy is a joker. He needs to be fired
Havent been on LT for quite a while now. This is a great new look, Well done LT!
One day you are on air saying ‘ we are giving you the freedom to paint your buses and cabs the color of your choice’ and the next day you are like ‘ sorry we have changed our minds, maybe later.’ As # 4 puts it, ‘the entire minister’ goes on air to retract that statutory instrument without consultation from the public ( who in my opinion are the most important) is just so low. What? Was that a way of soliciting for votes from bus and cab drivers and their employers? C’mon. It was a dim witted decision anyway, glad someone came thru to save your face.
I have only notice one big bus with adverts on it “power tools”, now this tells you that this opportunity has not been exploited by the advertisers. SO, start with those vima big buses,see the response,then consider tuma small ones later.BUT i still think this was a wrong move, and a political gimmick meant to escalate crime levels, as well as lawlessness on the road by the drivers!
So we are told by the professor that advertising can only be if the PSV are painted in other collours but not sky blue. There is something seriously wrong with thses chaps in MMD. the movement for mad dogs indeed.
Good decision ba proff at last
The idea was to win the Ng’wang’wazi from PF to MMD. But this move lacks professional thinking. By allowing Taxi Operators to use any color on their vehicles was going to mean free for all including pirate taxis. The police were going to have a torrid time to control the transport system. How desperate can people get
You could still allow operators to run adverts of their choice but the background color needs to remain
ncibotu alimwi nceceelede.
U turn not enough. You now paint all grz vehicles and police hondaz blue and white.
Nearly everywhere you go in the world public transportation (Buses, Taxis, Minibuses, even Trains) are painted in a uniform colour. This is mostly for public safety and to make it easier for law enforcement officers (Traffic cops, if they ever exist in Zambia) to enforce public safety laws that PSV operators are mandated to live by. After all, these operators sometimes carry relatives of this same Minister. Well, maybe not. Nonetheless, easy identification of PSV operators help prevent driver recklessness, hence avoiding unnecessary deaths—-safute, bwana, safute!!
Also, how did he expect visitors (tourists) to Zambia to easily separate crooks from genuine cab/minibus/bus operators—-it was going to be the law of the jungle! Even Kaponyas have some good judgement than this.
What a joke to flip-flop on policy like this. I only hope they put a little more thought into more important issues! Oh, sorry dear neighbouring country, did I say our policy was to reduce tariffs to improve regional trade? Ooops, I really meant to say increase tariffs. But tell me, what colour are your minibuses?
Maybe ba Minister was drunk when he announced this change on Friday? Probably just a case of too long up in Kabwe without at drink….
this chap is kind of dull you know..how could you ..?
Even highly developed countries like the USA have color codes for their taxis. If u had removed the color code, it wud have been hard 2 distinguish my corolla from a taxi. Ask those that want 2 advertise on the vehicles to do wat Traed Kings does on the Flash buses. We need 2 distinguish the Public from Private vehicles
yaba…poor lungwangwa
Silly and mischievous government of liars!
Good move prof, i like you.
I don’t know what is really happening to our learned ministers to think of such like that. How can you allow public service vehicles to operate without color codes? Hijacking and abductions would have increased and foreigners wouldn’t know if the vehicle they are about to board is a public or private, i think the tourism sector was going to be affected in one way or another. I don’t really know why such educated people think like that. Guys lets really be serious with our national affairs, because this nation is for us the youths and we have a huge role to play and see to it that our lives change for better.%%-
The MMD guys are in terrible deperation, they are trying to use every means of compaigning for RB as we can see in the failed scheme to use minibuses to compaign for RB. They wanted to stick MMD campaigns on buses….what a useless gonvt which is bent on evil doing just in order to maintain their hold on power. Very useless chaps.
WHAT A WASTE OF TIME , IT WAS PROBABLY DECIDED AT A PUB!
Flip floppers! Always make rush decisions with engaging the brain
Flip floppers! Always make rush decisions without engaging the brain
It was a bad idea and who ever put you Prof in this embarrassing situation has to be fired before you are fired!!
Alu sapila bwee bwee…. M M D colours can not go just like that. Bo Lungwangwa musebezi uka fela. Kozo..
This is just obvious Prof, did you graduate with merit or silent at first degree. Surely wisdom in not in academics.
It is not easy to recover costs of the bus or tax in one year. What the GRZ needs to do Prof is
1 Remove this carbon tax
2 Maintain, rehabilitate roads frequently used by PSV
3 Reduce the costs by 75% associated with PSV operation such as Identity, and Fitness.
4 Remove bureaucracy in getting the necessary documents associated with PSV.
It is as easy as that, but the only problem is that some Police Officers operating PSV in Kitwe and other big cities do not comply, that is why you cannot or see blue and white taxis on kitwe roads but there hundreds in Chingola. Prof explain this to the public.
This only goes show to the type of Ministers we have in Zambia…. Mediocre! you should be fired Xsay
So I suppose this is the government’s late April Fool’s joke? Anyway, @15, you’re right, there are a lot of costs to owning or driving a bus, but you forgot one: bribes for the police. We all know that they charge the drivers too much for anything they can think of, that’s why @14 is right, the drivers will vote for Sata no matter what color their buses are. They whose pockets their money has been disappearing into. Also, why would anyone think that revoking the mandatory colors would make the bus owners happy? It only makes it easier for non-registered taxis and buses to compete with them.
Always make sure you consult before you parade yourself before journalists. Are you going to compensate those who have already changed the paint on their vehicles? Like we said that was a very wrong move.
Ka kiosk proper…
Mr Capitalist what do you have to say about this, you flat out supported these chaps move 3 days ago, are you going to blindly support them now that they have gone against what you said was a good move?
What has this professor somad? Ati Ba professor. Why don’t you come up with a regulation that would improve safety standards. At least since you are a professor write a book. Do something positive that will have lifetime benefit.
Wolala!!!!!!!!! its just yesterday that I posted my comment to say that lack of a colour code for mini buses and taxis would bring chaos and put the public lives at risk. I also questioned the type of Professor that Lungwangwa was for him to support such a crazy idea of scraping the blue colour code. Colour code prevents thugs and illegal operaters from providing services. Fleet numbers are not enough. I am happy that he has listened to my adivse and many others. I applaude him on condition that he maintains the new position. Avoid making hasty decisions. Consult widely and wisely mwana
So number 15 in short you are telling me that by not painting the buses all these other costs will be reduced.Because the simple analogy was that the painting was another unnecessary cost.When analysing costs they are long term fixed costs not relevant for operations and operational cost incurred on a daily basis relevant for decision making if the operational income is not capable of covering you short term operational costs then you have no business being in business in the first place.The cost i was referring to was the one the professor brought in the analysis involving painting not the operational costs.Repair the roads to reduce depreciation,negotiate for the daily fees to be reduced this will improve long term profits ,not negotiating the reduction of fixed sunk costs period.
Dull Natty Professor! Instead of doing serious work all you want to do is Pull Her Down (PHD) the work of the real Professor! Counsult man!
How you got your professorship is highly questionable. You suck and stink man!!!!!!!!!!!!!or come and tell the nation whose interest you were trying to serve. How did you write your thesis and papers if consultation was not part of intellectual initiative and ability. Shame on you lungwagwa
Abena Zambia you surprise me so much. Umuntu nalanda ati after consulting stake holders govt decided to u-turn. That shows that these guys listen to peoples cries. Way to go Lungwangwa. Thats why we need educated people to run gov, not ama didnt.
Prince Chinza ### ………You consult before making decisions, not after. After, you just look stupid. Like the prof has. I just wonder why you’d want to fix something thats not broken in the first place. Plain stupid.
Prince Chinza ### ………You consult before making decisions, not after. After, you just look stupid. Like the prof has. I just wonder why you’d want to fix something tha’ts not broken in the first place. Plain stupid.
Ati a balozi balisambilila. Did this guy rely pass to become a profesor with that cheap thinking or it was a leakage? Thinking like kwa mutonyo or kandambwe stiyle. Mwa sabilile ne sukulu lwa kulipila itepe lya mataba nangu pa community school.Go to hell you can’t put the public at risk like that and at the end of the day you keep on entering my noolle presquel to defend criminals when they are taken to court. Is it a stratege to be killing opposition supporters in hiden vehicles so that you are not known. We will not remove the paint.
Lungwangwa like you announce come on air again and announce the withdraw i would like to see how yo face will look like shameeee ba pro…………….!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! haaa