The Tonse Alliance Government says motorcycle taxis will not be allowed to operate on the roads of Malawi after 6PM.
Homeland Security Minister Richard Chimwendo Banda announced the curfew on motorcycles taxis in Parliament.
Chimwendo said starting Friday, October 23, motorcycle taxi operators will be operating from 5 o’clock in the morning to 6 o’clock in the evening.
According to Chimwendo, the measure has been introduced in a bid to control the rise in accidents involving motorcycle taxis.
“There has been a 39 percent increase in road accidents with over 800 registered in 2019 alone. Through our findings, it is clear that most of these accidents happen during the night and the only way to deal with this is to impose measures that will see that operating time for these motorcycle taxi operators is regulated,” he said.
He added that the curfew on motorcycles will also protect motorcycle taxi operators from challenges such as robberies which they face at night.
The minister also told Parliament that the police and road traffic directorate are in the process of registering the motorcycles.
Of late, there have been concerns over the increase of motorcycles on the roads of Malawi with road users complaining that many motorcyclists violate road traffic regulations.
“They have no registered number plates, most riders and passengers don’t have crash helmets and they sometimes carry up to 3 adults plus a child simultaneously,” said social commentator Rafiq Hajat in a Facebook post.
