Usafiri wa walipa kodi

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South Africa minibus taxi driver



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South Africa's minibus taxi drivers have a bad reputation
for dangerous driving and violence. They sometimes fight each other
for control of routes and beat passengers who do not pay.
Sibongile Tunce, a driver for six years in Cape Town, explains his day.


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“I start at 3.00am, when I get up to collect the bus from the owner.
I always travel the same route from Khayelitsha [township] to Bellville
and back. It takes 15 minutes each way. The morning rush hour is
the busiest time when the bus fills quickly."


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“My bus takes 14 passengers and it costs 11.50 rand (about $1.50) each.
The passenger who sits in the front seat collects the money.
It saves time instead of doing it at the taxi rank, so they don't mind.”



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Mr Tunce keeps a knobkerrie (wooden club) on his dashboard.
“If someone doesn’t pay, I’m going to take a stick and beat him
- because my owner will sack me if I don’t have the full fares.”

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But he says there is now little violence in the minibus taxi trade,
despite its bad image. 'There are no guns in the rank.'
At Bellville station after the initial morning rush, it is time for breakfast.


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While the drivers wait for the next load, they chat and joke
together and socialise with vendors. 'My nickname here is Big Show,
after a wrestler,' says Mr Tunce, who is married and has one child.


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He says there is a lot of distrust about a proposed transport system
which would make taxi operators form two companies for the whole city.
At the moment drivers only ply one route and each rank has it own association.


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To stop arguments, each driver is given a number when he arrives
at the rank and must wait his turn. Police also often stop the minibuses
on the road to check their permits and to see if they are carrying fire extinguishers.

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The frequent checks make drivers feel hassled.
The police make the passengers late, says Mr Tunce.
On some routes, owners chose to have a tout,
like the 18 year old above, to drum up business and collect fares.


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The buses only leave when full. Mr Tunce gets 25%
of his bus owner's takings, about 1,000 rand a week.
I work seven days: no work, no pay and no injury time."
Last year after an accident, he was off for seven months.


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'I lost control of the bus after a tyre burst; it went into a tree.
I had no passengers, he recalls.' He recuperated for some
of the time at his mother's home in Eastern Cape,
where he usually goes for a week at Christmas.


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Mr Tunce knocks off at about 7pm, after three or four trips.
'If I could get training, one day I would like to be a mechanic'
that is my talent, he says. But with little free time or money,
he doubts it will be possible. By Lucy Fleming, BBC News

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Je, sisi kama taifa kipaumbele chetu kiko wapi katika kuhakikisha kwamba Watanzania wengi ambao ni walipa kodi wanasafiri kwa amani na utulivu bila kokoro wala kakara.

Usafiri ambao uko Dar Es Salaam ni wa kukatisha tamaa. Nchi yetu chini ya uongozi wa Chama Cha Majambazi umeridhika na hali ya usafiri inayoendelea kwenye mji mkuu wa Biashara. Je hasara yake ni kiasi gani? Usafiri ambao wenzetu wa SA wanao unakatisha tamaa vile vile.

Ama kwa sababu tunawapa wabunge mashangingi wanapopata ubunge basi wengine watajijua? Ama kwa sababu JK au Pinda wanapokwenda kwenye nyumba ndogo wanafuatwa na vimulinuli kwa hiyo hakuna anayejali? Ama kwa sababu nchi yetu ni tajiri hivyo kila moja lazima awe na usafiri wake.

Je, ni lini kama taifa tunaweza kusema viongozi wetu wanaweza kusafiri kwa public transport bila kokoro wala kakara?

[Dua]

Rais Jakaya Kikwete amekuja na wazo au kutoa amri kwamba barabara za juu zijengwe. Swali la kujiuliza Je, tumefikia wapi ni ule mradi wa Dar Rapid Transport? Kama mradi huo ungetekelezwa ndio tungeweza kutathmini mapungufu yake na nini kifanyike.

Inakuwaje viongozi wa ngazi za juu wa kitaifa kukurupuka namna hii? Hivi tunaweza kweli kulijenga hili taifa? Kama tumeshindwa kwa nini tusiwaite waingereza na kuwaambia kwamba sisi bado hatujaweza kujitawala na kuleta maendeleo kwa walipa kodi. Mwl. J K Nyerere RIP alihutubia UN na kudai kwamba tunaweza kufanikiwa, kama tumeshindwa njia ni rahisi tu tumrudishe mkoloni kuliko kuuza nchi kwa mburukenge.

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Wakati tumeshindwa kuendesha mipango yetu tunawakumbatia mabwenyenye kutunyonya kupitia viongozi tuliowapa dhamana.

[Dua]

Lini serikali ya Tanzania itanza kuwajali walipa kodi wake? My take kukitokea mabadiliko ya kiutawala na CCM kuwa benchi kwa miongo kadhaa.