By PASSY HAACHIZO –
..MUSHIMBA
WITH in a baseball cap on and a light bag Transport and Communications Minister Brian Mushimba was undercover yesterday trying to snoop on the services of Juldan Motors following Monday’s accident that killed four passengers in Mporokoso but disembarked in Kabwe with a smile.
Juldan buses with a moto, ‘We are here to take you there’, might have made a mark by having Mr Mushimba as a ‘guest’ on their bus in view of investigations and being accused by the Road Transport and Safety Agency of a poor safety record.
“I expected a nightmare but instead the experience was very good. Starting from Intercity in Lusaka, there was order in the manner the buses were loading (us) passengers and on my way, the driver was observing all the traffic rules such that when overtaking, he would check on the broken lines plus the gospel music was so nice,” Mr Mushimba told reporters after getting off the bus at 09:58 hours.
Mr Mushimba said it was normal for him to travel incognito and have a first-hand feel of bus services on different routes and would continue to do so.
He was on his way for official duties to Luapula and after disembarking at Brimas Bus Station, he returned to his official vehicle to proceed to Luapula much to the amusement of the public particularly those on the Juldan bus, who had no clue that the minister was in their midst.
Mr Mushimba said he did so particularly after the accident and would make his recommendations to the RTSA, who are also looking into Juldan Motors’ case.
Juldan Motors recorded three accidents in a month with one accident in South Africa claiming a life, the second accident claiming one life in Zimbabwe and the third accident in Mporokoso leaving four passengers dead. The other accident occurred along Ndola-Kapiri-Mposhi Road on March 18, this year.
He said contrary to worrying expectations, the experience aboard the Juldan bus was ‘shockingly’ good.
Mr Mushimba said the bus was also spacious enough to allow passengers to move about.
He said the Patriotic Front (PF) was a ‘people-government’ and wanted to get closer to the people in all circumstances.
