The Ministry of Works and Transport plans to cut public transport permit processing times from up to one month to as little as three days under a proposed Public Passenger Transport Bill expected to be finalised this year.
Deputy Director at the Ministry of Works and Transport Damien Mabengano said the legislation, currently before the Cabinet Committee on Legislation, forms part of government’s efforts to modernise the country’s public transport regulatory framework, which dates back to 1977.
“We want permits issued within three days. Now it’s taking a month. We have realised that and we have a solution for that,” Mabengano told the SanlamAllianz Brief Session.
The bill proposes a wide range of reforms, including the decentralisation of permit issuance to regional offices, formal employment standards for drivers, tax compliance requirements, fare regulation, vehicle safety measures and mandatory training for operators.
According to Mabengano, the reforms follow a nationwide review of the public passenger transport sector to identify regulatory shortcomings and develop practical solutions.
“We have done analysis in the public passenger transport sector to identify what are the gaps in public passenger transport that we need to fill. Once we identified those areas, we sat down and said let’s find solutions on how we are going to address these challenges,” he said.
He said the draft legislation and accompanying regulations were developed following consultations across the country and are currently being reviewed by the Cabinet Committee on Legislation.
The bill also seeks to regulate employment conditions for drivers, address inconsistent fare structures, strengthen enforcement against overloading and speeding, improve customer service through compulsory training, and increase tax compliance among operators.
Government further intends to decentralise permit administration to regional offices to improve efficiency and reduce delays.
Mabengano said the ministry aims to complete the legislative process this year and begin implementing the new law in 2027.
