Col Panji Kaunda implicated in Higer bus scandal A Catalogue of fraud and gross weight understatement characterized major abuses employed to irregularly allow overweight Chinese Higer buses to operate in Zambia. Zambian transporters have accused Transport Works, Supply and Communications Deputy Minister Panji Kaunda of having ignored technical advice and recommendations from the ministry, the Road Development Agency (RDA) and the Zambia Police that condemned the Chinese buses. They have produced a range of documentation revealing high level forgery within RTSA in which the Higer buses weight was grossly understated for registration purposes. At the weekend, Col Kaunda issued a statement that Higer buses were free to operate on Zambian roads, thereby contradicting a statement by Ministry of Works, Supply and Communications permanent secretary Joe Kapembwa who earlier announced the Chinese buses had been banned. The transporters have complained that because of the wrong weight of the buses, they were being forced to pay more at the weigh-bidges thereby eating into their profits. But Higer Bus Zambia Limited general manager Wu Ming has blamed RDA and RTSA for the falsified weights that have led to government condemning and recalling the Chinese buses.Mr Wu has accused one of the transporters complaining of having failed to settle the loan for the buses he procured and that he had allegedly bounced nine cheques in his attempt to settle the loan. The single diff buses often with four rear wheels have been condemned by the Zambian government because their net weight and GVM Kg were wrong, making the buses incompatible to the Zambian roads. The gross vehicle weight of the buses was 16,000kg and 18,000kg respectively instead of the required 10,500kgs after loading, far above the expected weight and that they could only load up to 15 passengers as a result of the mechanical fault. The Zambia Police, the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) and RDA have all condemned the Chinese Higer buses because, apart from their net weight not being uniform for the buses with the same seating capacity, the buses were not making good business for the Zambian transport operators. Most of the transporters have complained of having been duped over the net weight of the buses by Kinglong Motors Limited, the company that has been supplying the said buses to Zambians. The original concept of importing the Chinese buses was to empower Zambian drivers but the Daily Nation has been informed that Colonel Panji Kaunda in connivance with the Private, Public Buses Association had hijacked the programme and were using it to their own personal benefits. Transport operators such as Sonwemo Bus Services, Mwami Coach Services and Ilangeni Coach Services have said they were shocked with Col Kaunda’s statement because government professional agencies such as RTSA, RDA and the police have confirmed that the buses were unsuitable for Zambian roads. Col Kaunda, when contacted said the position of government’s was that all the faulty Higer buses in Zambia were going to be recalled and that there would be no more importation of such buses until the manufacturers modified the passenger transport vehicles. “The position of government is that we have with immediate effect stopped the importation of the Higer buses from China and we are now recalling all the faulty buses on the Zambian roads because of the complaints from the transporters. The buses we are recalling would have to be handed back to the supplier for modification so that they could be compatible to the Zambian roads,” Col Kaunda said. But some operators have accused Col Kaunda of having connived with the PPAZ senior officials of hijacking a project that was intended to empower drivers. The operators said the initial proposal was that the over 300 intended beneficiaries of the empowerment programme were made to contribute K1,000 towards the programme but that the money could not be accounted for. Some RDA sources have told the Daily Nation that there was a possibility that some transporters could have been duped on the weight of the Higer buses and have confirmed that the buses have been condemned and should be recalled from the Zambian roads. According to a letter dated June 23rd 2014, by RDA director commercial and traffic services Steven Mwale addressed to Yobby General Dealers, the complaints by the many operators about the Higer buses weighing above the 10,500 Kg which was the recommended weight in Zambia.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 08:14:47 +0000
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