The Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (Satsa) recently met with the National Department of Transport and the National Public Transport Regulator (NPTR), facilitated by the National Department of Tourism (NDT), to address operating license challenges for wheel operators.
The NPTR, fully aware of the challenges, has begun the implementation of various actions to streamline its services. These include the approval and appointment of seven additional staff members, scheduled to take effect in October; training of new staff members and offering additional training to existing staff members; the approval of a new system for which the terms of reference have been developed and will go to tender soon; and possibly an increase in the frequency that the NPTR board meets.
To assist both the NPTR and Satsa members, two interim measures were agreed as follows:
Satsa may compile a database of its members who are experiencing challenges with their applications. This list will then be submitted to the NPTR for priority feedback. Members who have not yet submitted this information can still do so.
One of the challenges the NPTR faces is the quality of documentation received from operators, therefore it was agreed that Satsa will play an intermediary role for the time being with any new applications first being submitted to Satsa for verification. Before this commences Satsa and the NPTR will meet to clarify the process and develop the necessary communications and checklists. Once Satsa is satisfied that the correct application documentation has been included by the operator, a Satsa endorsement letter will be issued. The operator may then submit the application together with the endorsement letter, which should fast-track the application. As soon as the process has been developed, it will be communicated to members on where and what to submit to Satsa.
Useful tips that were discussed at the meeting include, operators must remember to first apply to the NPTR prior to investing in a new vehicle, and those sending an application from an Internet café must include additional contact details, so that they can be contacted correctly by the NPTR.
