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Raymond Jaravaza, Showbiz Correspondent
WET cloth in hand and a cigarette between his lips, commuter omnibus driver Mpumelelo Sibanda washes an 18-seater kombi with such vigour that leaves no one in doubt that he is getting ready to ferry passengers.

The kombi unfortunately is going nowhere and has been parked for close to six weeks now thereby rendering its driver and conductor temporarily jobless.

“This has been the worst time of my career as a kombi driver.

“We have experienced difficult times before like the shortages of fuel in 2008, but we still managed to be on the road, even for just three days a week, and made a living.

“This time around, fuel is available at service stations and on the black market, but we can’t work and our families are starving,” says Sibanda as he washes the kombi outside his employer’s home in Emakhandeni suburb.

The Government last Friday extended the lockdown by a further two weeks and gave the green light for industry and commerce to re-open but observe health regulations meant to contain Covid-19.

These include maintaining social distancing, sanitising workstations and wearing face masks.

The kombis remain grounded except for those under Zupco and Zupco buses which have been allowed to operate under lockdown.

Sibanda said six weeks of no work means no income for him and his family.

He said he had already spent the little savings and was now struggling to fend for his family.

Sibanda said he was at his boss’ house to ask for an advance salary to buy mealie-meal and other basics for his family.

“My boss is the only person I could ask for help and he gave me just enough money to buy mealie-meal and cooking oil. He will deduct the money from my weekly wages when we eventually get back on the road,” he said.

Sibanda is among hundreds of commuter omnibus drivers and conductors that are languishing at home due to the national lockdown.

According to the drivers and conductors, their contracts stipulate that no work no pay so as long as they are not back on the road, they have no salaries.

The transport industry employs thousands of workers who are not at work as a result of the lockdown and therefore look up to Government for assistance to fend for their families.

Vendors are also out of business because of the reduced volume of traffic on towns and cities’ roads and termini.

In Bulawayo, an estimated 4 000 commuter omnibuses ferry commuters to different destinations within the city. Three of the city’s busiest taxi ranks — Sixth Avenue, TM Hyper and City Hall are deserted.

Kombi operators have appealed to Government to relax restrictions on public transport so that they can complement Zupco in providing transport during the lockdown.

Tshova Mubaiwa Transport Corporation chairperson Atlas Moyo feels taxi associations, which have served the Bulawayo community for nearly 40 years, should have been consulted before the decision to impose a blanket ban on their operations.

More than 800 kombis are registered under Tshova Mubaiwa.

“Due to the low fares that we have been charging, most of our operators are living from hand to mouth. The bulk of the money we realise is spent on vehicle maintenance and wages so we have no savings to talk about,” said Moyo.

He said the operators, workers and their families have no source of income as long as kombis are not allowed to operate during lockdown.

Some commuters are however, of the view that the lockdown has made kombi operators appreciate the value of commuters which over the years they were taking for granted.

Priscilla Zhou said kombi operators had over the years been insensitive to the plight of commuters as they were charging exorbitant fares.

“Have you ever felt the pain of getting to the taxi rank after a long day’s work and you are told that kombi fares have been increased and you have no money for the new fare?” said Zhou.

She said the operators have in the past shown that they do not care about the inconvenience caused by just increasing fares willy-nilly.

“Government must buy more Zupco buses that charge affordable fares so that we do away with these private kombis that are after profiteering,” she said.
Before the lockdown, commuter omnibuses plying the City-Luveve Road route had already pegged their fares at $10 per trip compared to the $2 charged by Zupco buses. — @RaymondJaravaza