Moam wants parking place

The Minibus Owners Association of Malawi (Moam) has asked the Blantyre City Council to allocate them a space in Limbe to build a minibus terminal.

In an interview last week, Moam secretary general Coaxley Kamange said minibuses do not have a permanent place in Limbe.

For two years, minibuses have been parking on a ground close to Limbe Market and the council has been reluctant to allow Moam to build a terminal on the land.

“We are asking the council to give us a place to build a terminal in Limber. If you look at Limbe, you will discover that minibuses do not have a proper terminal as they do in Blantyre,” he said.

In Blantyre, apart from the Mibawa terminal, minibuses also use the bus stands to load and offload passengers.

“The place becomes muddy during the rainy season and passengers insult us for lacking a proper terminal,” said Kamange.

But BCC director of planning Coaxley Chanza said the problem of minibuses in Limbe can be solved if all of them stick to their route schedules.

He said the congestion comes in because minibuses operate in a “free-for-all state”.

Chanza wondered if Moam would really build a terminal in Limbe even if they were allocated land.

“What guarantee does the council have that if it gives them land, they would really use it?” he said.