MOAM foresees doom to minibus business in Malawi
The Minibus Owners Association of Malawi (MOAM) says the number of minibuses plying on the roads of Malawi has decreased by 10 percent.
MOAM Secretary General, Coxley Kamange said this in an interview on Wednesday.
Kamange attributed the decrease to high Insurance costs coupled with the devaluation of the kwacha that has affected all the spheres of the country’s economy.
Kamange said the association’s survey has revealed that those members who had more than one minibus are now remaining with one or no minibus at all.
“This is real. The association had a membership of over 12,000 across the country and they were renewing their membership annually.
“But now the membership has drastically gone down up to the extent that some members are failing to renew their membership,” said Kamange.
He said insurance for minibuses is very high and that the lowest is MK320, 000 per year adding that the amount is huge considering that the profits they make nowadays are marginal.
According to Kamange, the survey has shown that minibus owners are even failing to buy spare parts when the buses develop a fault.
“Look, there are a lot of Vanette minibuses all over. This is not by choice but rather people are going for cheap minibuses which they feel can make some profits.
“The Vanette minibus itself was not even meant for business. Even passengers do not feel comfortable in the bus, and the minibus itself is not durable,” bemoaned Kamange.
He said looking at the minimum insurance fee of MK320, 000 per year for a minibus, it means on daily basis, the minibus makes K1,000 for the insurance only which he said was not good in as far as minibus business is concerned.
Kamange therefore said if the financial crisis continue as it is, the number of minibuses shall continue to decease on the roads of Malawi.
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