Boycott minibuses that do not reduce fares—Pawa

Passengers Welfare Association of Malawi (Pawa), a grouping that represents the interest of passengers, has urged passengers in the country to boycott all vehicles that fail to reduce fares by a minimum of K50 in the case of local routes.

In a statement, Pawa secretary general Alfredo Mkandawire said like any other business, passenger vehicle operators can come up with fares considering the cost of the goods.

“The main component of the transport sector is fuel whose prices have been reduced. These owners have to do the same and pass it on to passengers.

“The Competition and Fair Trading Act says everybody should create their own fares and not be influenced by anybody, but these operators also raise fares when fuel prices go up, so it is natural that they reduce the fares”, he said.

However, Minibus Owners Association of Malawi (Moam) secretary general Coxley Kamange said the decision to reduce fares lies in the hands of an individual operator.

“As Moam, we cannot influence minibus owners to reduce minibus fares according to a determination by the Competition and Fair Trading Commission (CFTC). Every operator is free to maintain or reduce the fares,” he said.

According to Chisomo Mhango, a minibus passenger from Chichiri, the boycott is a welcome development, but said the problem is that passengers have different incomes and others have no difficulties with the current fares; hence, it would not work as it needs a collective input from all passengers.