Kinshasa drivers banned from putting three people in their cabins (Press release)

Kinshasa, April 17^th, 2025, ( CPA) – Drivers of vehicles weighing less than twenty (20) tons have been banned from placing three (3) people in their cabs by the provincial Minister of Transport in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a press release from the ministry in charge, consulted on Wednesday by CPA. ‘The Kinshasa provincial Minister in charge of Transport and Urban Mobility, Bob Amisso, has banned drivers of vehicles weighing less than twenty (20) tons from placing three (3) people in their cabs. This decision is part of the measures taken to improve governance in the transport sector in the city of Kinshasa’, we have read. Among the new measures listed in the press release, signed by Chief Tshipamba, Director of the Office of the Provincial Minister in charge of Transport and Urban Mobility is the requirement for vehicles to undergo roadworthiness tests ‘in approved centres’. ‘All vehicles must undergo roadworthiness tests at approved centres, (…) motorbike parking tax and vehicle parking tax must be paid in accordance with the regulations. All payments must follow the official channels without bypassing them‘, has indicated the document which specifies that it is also required to the ‘owners of vehicles of less than 20 tons of transport, goods and people to declare the list of their carts the current month of April‘; ‘The illegal practice of fitting out the phenomenon ‘living room’ which is observed in buses and taxi-buses of the Mercedes 207 type is also prohibited’ has noted this press. According to the provincial Ministry in charge of Transport and Urban Mobility, the compulsory roadworthiness tests, payment of urban taxes and compliance with legal payment procedures are aimed at improving road safety in the Congolese capital, effectively combating fraud and, above all, strengthening governance in this sector.