Taxi drivers take a stand as gov’t fails to address issues
They said they would not tolerate in any way the transport minister “speaking with two tongues in two places”
The Taxi Drivers' Association held a press conference on Tuesday
Taxi drivers have decided to take direct action as their concerns have grown and the government has failed to resolve the issues they are facing.
The Taxi Drivers' Association held a press conference on Tuesday to express concern over the cancellation of a scheduled meeting with President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu on Tuesday to share their concerns.
Drivers said there are many concerns, but so far these issues have not been resolved. Therefore, after consultation, the drivers have decided to take direct action to hold the government accountable. They said they will announce the date and location of the action once it is finalized.
The message announcing the cancellation of the scheduled meeting with Muizzu on Tuesday stated the "the President is very busy, so today's meeting is cancelled. We will inform you when a date is set."
In addition to this, drivers have lost confidence in Transport Minister Ameen as he has been speaking differently in various forums, and the drivers' demand is for Minister Ameen to resign.
A member who spoke on behalf of the Taxi Drivers' Association stressed that they would not tolerate in any way the transport minister “speaking with two tongues in two places”.
Another concern highlighted was the issue of re-registering cars brought in for SME loans and cars already imported to Malé, while registering additional cars. They said this is not acceptable in any way. They also mentioned that the previous government had opened the "Taxi Nafaa" loan scheme to many drivers. However, after the incumbent administration was elected, coinciding with the parliamentary elections, the money for the loan was deposited, and now those cars have been brought to Malé.
A member who spoke on behalf of the Taxi Drivers' Association said that those who received the loans are paying interest and that there was no way to use the car while paying for it. Adding that the previous government did this by amending the regulation to allow registration of cars brought for taxi service for MVR 10,000, the member added that the incumbent administration has however cancelled the regulation and now says it will not happen.
At the meeting held at the People’s Majlis, it was stated that the issues presented by taxi drivers are not impossible to resolve and are “minor” issues, while questioning why the president is hesitant to meet with taxi drivers. The taxi drivers expressed their desire to know why the meeting couldn’t take place.
The association also stated in the press conference that the government appears to be in hot water because a political party is planning to hold a rally tonight.
