Minibuses caught in insurance fraud

Some minibus operators have been accused of plying the roads using fake insurance cover.

Minibus Operators Association of Malawi (Moam) secretary for Central Region, Steven Msambila, confirmed the situation in an interview.

He said: “This is a big problem in the sector because operators feel it is expensive to purchase insurance from companies such as Prime Insurance Company Limited.

“In fact, two months ago, a sweeping exercise was conducted in Blantyre and many minibuses were impounded.”

Prime Insurance Company Limited chief executive officer Albert Mbawala said the issue of fake insurance cover has been a big problem among minibus operators for some time.

“Normally, we conduct sweeping exercises with the police and in Blantyre, for example, we managed to apprehend over 10 mini buses per day and we collected a lot of revenue,” he said.

Police have since stepped up efforts to detain minibuses with fake certificate of fitness (CoF) and insurance licences. n