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Touts to stay, but must pass ‘good conduct’ test
2005-07-13 09:12:48
By Concilia Niyibitanga, IJMC
Touts will not be ejected from bus stops after all.
However, they will only be allowed back at their ”duty stations” after undergoing a thorough screening process to weed out bad elements from among them.
A meeting of top Dar es Salaam City Council officials chaired by their Director Wilson Mukama, Dar es Salaam Bus Drivers and Conductors Union (UWAMADAR) representatives, Tanzania Drivers Association (TDA) and Union of Bus Drivers in Tanzania (UWAMATA) resolved yesterday to screen all touts to eliminate elements perceived to be a security threat.
The touts who make the grade will be seconded to work alongside S. Group Security employees to restore order and sanity in the Dar’s public transport.
It was also decided that co-ordinators would be appointed to liase with S. Group Security workers in manning bus stops.
S. Group Security, a private firm contracted by the city council to control public transport in the city, was two weeks ago at the centre of controversy that pitted the firm against the touts and bus conductors.
The firm’s employees were attacked and injured by the touts and bus conductors who were protesting their eviction from bus stops on claims of being a security risk to commuters.
”There will be a special team to oversee the smooth implementation of security and order at bus stops,” minutes of yesterday’s meeting, a copy of which The Guardian obtained, read in part.
It was also resolved that the daladalas would pay 500/- levy each daily to S. Group Security.
The money will be shared by the city council, TDA and UWAMADAR.
It was also agreed the Dar es Salaam Commuter Bus Owners Association (DARCOBOA) would not get a share of the levy.
The money would be used to finance the training of drivers and touts on HIV/Aids and effects of hard drugs, the minutes says.
City authorities were directed to inform local government leaders of the decisions of the meeting aimed at improving order and security at bus stops in the city.
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