The Ministry of Works and Transport announced a reform to modernise the passenger transport permit system by converting indefinite road carrier permits into two-year renewable permits.

Transport Minister Veikko Nekundi stated this aims to address administrative challenges and ensure fairness in the transport sector.

The indefinite permits have been criticised for creating inefficiencies and fostering illegal practices such as renting permits to taxi owners for monthly fees ranging from 500 to 1000 dollars.

The system, Nekundi said, has also been manipulated to disadvantage vehicle owners, with some applications being ignored while permits were issued to individuals without vehicles.

To address this, he said that permits will only be issued to individuals who present vehicles intended for passenger transport; permits will be tied to the vehicle and its owner by preventing their use as tradable commodities.

Several members of parliament raised various concerns regarding the heavy penalties imposed on owners of seven-seater vehicles and whether those penalties will be lifted, whether the ministry had conducted thorough investigations into the renting out of driving licences and the financial implications of the licence conversion process.