Chakwera wants kabaza business regulated

President Lazarus Chakwera says there is need for the country to start regulating motorcycle taxis, popularly known as kabaza to reduce road accidents.

Speaking on Monday after touring the Orthopaedic Department at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) in Lilongwe, he said it was sad that 75 percent of cases in the department are a result of road accidents involving kabaza operators.

Said Chakwera: “This is sad because when we started to regularise this sometime back, [some] people misunderstood [it] and thought it was a political statement.

“They said they didn’t want any of that, but now we are paying the price for something that we should have handled better.”

Recently, Minister of Transport and Public Works Jacob Hara presented in Parliament the challenges associated with kabaza operators.

He said: “In 2014, the country registered 71 crashes involving motorcycles. However, the picture dramatically changed beginning 2015.

“Since then, there has been a relative increase in the following years up to 90 percent between 2014 and 2021”

Transport Committee of Parliament chairperson Uchizi Mkandawire said there is an urgent need to address the situation.

He said the committee has been engaging relevant stakeholders on the matter.

“You will realise that the kabaza business is a source of livelihood for some people. While there is a need to uplift economic activities for people, we need to ensure that the risks associated with the business are eliminated,” said Mkandawire.

While at KCH, Chakwera also visited a ward where 12 dialysis machines were installed in 2021 and serves people from Central and Northern regions.

“In as much as I appreciate the new dialysis wing because of various interventions, it is clear that we are far from providing Malawians with the best services because many are having to travel all the way as far as Chitipa to get these services because we have this at KCH and another at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital but no such facility in the Northern Region,” he said.

Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda said the hospital is serving 47 patients on hemodialysis while 46 patients are on chronic dialysis treatment and one patient is on acute dialysis.

“About 100 patients are on conservative [non-dialysis] management. Kidney disease is one of the major public health problems affecting our country,” she said.