A survey by Institute of Public Opinion and Research (Ipor) has established that most Malawians use motorcycle taxis, commonly known as kabaza, and they are against banning the business in urban areas.
This is despite the Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services (DRTSS) recording a staggering 1 700 percent rise in motorcycle-related accidents between 2014 and 2022, and over 4 566 accidents which resulted in 472 deaths between 2020 and 2023.
Presenting fundings of the survey in Lilongwe yesterday, Ipor director of research Boniface Dulani said the survey findings indicate that 72 percent of Malawians used kabaza in 2024 and of those that used the kabaza, 52 percent reported using it several times.
The survey sampled 1 395 people in 27 districts. Of those sampled 86 percent were from rural and 14 percent from urban areas, 43 percent of respondents were from Southern Region, 44 percent Central Region and 13 percent Northern Region.
Said Dulani: “Usage is higher in urban areas (57 percent) compared to rural areas (52 percent), with the Northern Region (62 percent) showing the highest usage rates compared to the central (49 percent) and Southern Region (55 percent).
“Usage is also higher among more educated individuals: Post-secondary education (85 percent) vs primary education (49 percent).”
The study further revealed that 97 percent of Malawians believe that motorcycle tax business is important in their communities and they want it to be properly regulated.
“Most Malawians do not agree with the proposal to ban kabaza motorcycles from carrying passengers and operating in urban areas,” said Dulani.
According to the findings, 97 percent of Malawians want to see kabaza operators and passengers wearing crash helmets, 94 percent want to see motorcycle riders possess licences, while 77 percent want to see police confiscating the motorcycles when operators break the law.
Asked why people value the motorcycle taxis, Dulani said they find it a cheaper and faster means of transport in roads than experience traffic jam, while in some rural areas, it is the only means of transport.
Meanwhile, Malawi Coalition for Kabaza Stakeholders Association (Macokasa) chairperson Moses Mwalabu has supported calls to regulate kabaza operators, saying the association has been advocating for the same.
He said dealing with accidents requires collaborative action and the association has taken steps to encourage members to be using helmets all the time.
Said Mwalabu: “We are already working with the police to ensure that kabaza operators and passengers use helmets. Some passengers refuse to wear them.
“As an association, we don’t condone people operating kabaza without wearing helmets and we are as much as possible doing awareness campaigns.”
However, Mwalabu said there is need to reduce the operator licence fee from K53 000 to K20 000 as well as registration costs, which sum up to K116 000 for a small motorcycle.
He noted that, currently, the licence fees for motorcycle and vehicles are the same.
In a separate interview, Malawi Orthopaedic Association president Maureen Sabawo also supported regulating kabaza, saying the road accidents involving them are putting pressure on health sector resources.
“Even in terms of infrastructure, including bed space, we don’t have enough facilities, as such, there is usually congestion. We also don’t have enough human resource to handle patients involved in road accidents,” she said.
When contacted for comment, DRTSS spokesperson Angellina Makwecha did not pick up her phone, while Ministry of Transport spokesperson Watson Maingo asked for more time to consult on the matter.
But on his part, health rights activist Maziko Matemba said government should ensure that part of the money collected through car and motorcycle insurance should go towards care for road accident victims in the hospitals.
He said road accidents put pressure on health sector resources, hence the need for proper funding for care.
Kabaza-related accidents remain a significant public health crisis. Nearly half of adult injury admissions in public hospitals are due to road traffic crashes and over 60 percent of those involve kabaza.
In the first-quarter of this year, police recorded 227 kabaza accidents.
