Unregistered transport operators aka mushika shikas, have been a major concern for the government. They were made illegal and police have since been working to enforce that law. In April, there were talks of the police getting an extra hand from the army to do away with mushika shikas.

This wasn’t the last time this issue was spoken about. Several times the Zimbabwe Republic Police(ZRP) has taken to their social media pages to warn people of the dangers of mushika shikas. In addition to them being illegal, many robberies have reportedly taken place in these forms of transport.

Given the aforementioned solid reasons to avoid mushika shikas, why are people still using them?

The answer is simple, what other options do they have? In addition to being illegal and dangerous, mushika shika are actually almost double the ZUPCO fees. Obviously, no one wants to pay double when there is a much cheaper option. A lack of sufficient ZUPCOs  has been the main reason why people keep going back to mushika shikas.

Despite this shortage, the government added another measure to try and stop mushika shikas from operating. Mushika shika passengers will now be fined $2000. As expected, this has caused an outcry among Zimbabweans.

Some people already have to survive on insufficient salaries and would prefer to use ZUPCOS to save an extra buck. However, that option isn’t always available. So imagine someone like that having to fork out $2000 on an almost daily basis as ZUPCOs are still not enough.

Tragic!

Here is what some had to say about this $2000 fine for mushika shika passengers:

One would wonder how long this new measure will last or if something will be done to increase the fleet of registered ZUPCO vehicles.

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When driving in a traffic jam, it is not at all unusual to come across many mushikashikas driving in the lanes of oncoming traffic at full speed. Such behaviour shows that this move to get rid of mushikashikas could be accepted joyously by drivers. However, those that depend on these modes of transport to get to and from work might be very disappointed.

The idea was suggested by Local Government and Public Works Minister, July Moyo who urged police to entreat the army to join forces with them in efforts to clamp down this mode of transport. The private transport sector has worryingly been reported to be a huge contributor to the spread of the coronavirus and therefore the police force sees a need to stop them by any means possible.

Moyo expressed the following sentiments:

“We operate under pieces of legislation, so if enforcement requires you to command the municipal police, please do so. If the law, as it does,allows you to say if you’re overwhelmed, please bring the army, please do it”

Given the said unreliability of the ZUPCO buses, this move, though necessary, might cause problems with people failing to get to work and other places on time.

What are your thoughts?

Let us know in the comment section below.

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