ROAD TRANSPORT (PERMITS): SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION

INDEX TO SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION

Road Transport (Permits) (Exemption) Order

Road Transport (Permits) Regulations

ROAD TRANSPORT (PERMITS) (EXEMPTION) ORDER

(under section 5)

(30th January, 1974)

ARRANGEMENT OF PARAGRAPHS

    PARAGRAPH

    1.    Citation

    2.    Exemption of certain motor vehicles

        Schedule

S.I. 10, 1974,
S.I. 50, 1981.

1.    Citation

    This Order may be cited as the Road Transport (Permits) (Exemption) Order.

2.    Exemption of certain motor vehicles

    The motor vehicles specified in the Schedule are hereby exempted from the provisions of the Act.

SCHEDULE

1.    Motor vehicles owned and operated by a local authority.

2.    Motor vehicles owned and operated by Botswana Railways for the purpose of maintaining track and rolling stock.

3.    Vehicles owned and operated by the Governments of Lesotho, Swaziland, Zambia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

4.    Vehicles registered for the use of diplomatic missions and personnel.

ROAD TRANSPORT (PERMITS) REGULATIONS

(under section 28)

(1st February, 1974)

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS

    REGULATION

PART I
Preliminary

    1.    Citation

    2.    Application

    3.    Interpretation

PART II
Powers and Duties of the Controller

    4.    Notices of sittings to be published by Controller

    5.    Controller to consult road authority

    6.    Controller to take into consideration objections

    7.    Discretion of Controller in granting permit

    8.    Decision of the Controller

    9.    Issue of permits

PART III
Applications and Objections

    10.    Form of application

    11.    Method of applying

    12.    Issue of permits

    13.    Notice of objections, etc.

PART IV
Obligations and Rights of Permit Holders

    14.    Obligations of permit holder

    15.    Issue of duplicate permits or tokens

    16.    Return of permit to Controller

    17.    Death, bankruptcy, etc., of holder of permit

    18.    Tickets and fares

    19.    Departure and arrival times to be observed

    20.    Penalties for failure to observe departure and arrival times

    21.    Luggage

    22.    Use of standby vehicles

PART V
Appeals

    23.    Memorandum of appeal and notice of appeal

    24.    Controller to forward appeal

    25.    Tribunal to fix day for hearing and give notice

    26.    Hearing of appeal

PART VI
Miscellaneous

    27.    Penalties

        First Schedule - Routes

        Second Schedule - Index of Forms

        Third Schedule - Tokens for Permits

        Fourth Schedule - Permit Fees

        Fifth Schedule - Forms

S.I. 8, 1974,
S.I. 139, 1976,
S.I. 165, 1976,
S.I. 139, 1977,
S.I. 69, 1979,
S.I. 87, 1980,
S.I. 43, 1982,
S.I. 108, 1984,
S.I. 88, 1989,
S.I. 3, 1990,
S.I. 25, 1995,
S.I. 9, 2000,
S.I. 63, 2000,
S.I. 65, 2000,
S.I. 14, 2004,
S.I. 46, 2004,
S.I. 48, 2017,
S.I. 45, 2020,
S.I. 61, 2020,
S.I. 73, 2021,
S.I. 83, 2021,
S.I. 36, 2022,
S.I. 125, 2022.

PART I
Preliminary (regs 1-3)

1.    Citation

    These Regulations may be cited as the Road Transport (Permits) Regulations.

2.    Application

    These Regulations shall apply—

    (a)    in respect of goods transport services, throughout Botswana;

    (b)    in respect of D permits, on the routes prescribed in the First Schedule.

3.    Interpretation

    In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

    "application" means an application for a permit, and includes an application for renewal or for the variation of the terms or conditions of the permit;

    "approved fares" means fares as approved on the relevant permit granted by the Controller;

    "customs officer" means the Director of Customs and Excise and any other officer delegated by the Director in terms of section 3 of the Customs and Excise Duty Act (Cap. 50:01);

    "luggage", in relation to passenger service, means personal belongings or goods not exceeding 200 kilograms whether accompanied by a passenger or not;

    "standby vehicle" means a vehicle to which a permit does not relate but which may be used instead of an authorised vehicle in cases of emergency;

    "road authority" has the same meaning as in the Road Traffic Act (Cap. 69:01);

    "token" means a certificate issued to a permit-holder by the Controller in respect of any permit issued under section 6 of the Act.

PART II
Powers and Duties of the Controller (regs 4-9)

4.    Notices of sittings to be published by Controller

    The Controller shall, not less than 21 days before holding a public sitting under section 3(5) of the Act, cause to be published in the Gazette a notice stating the date, time and place of the sitting, and a list of all applications which will be considered at the sitting.

5.    Controller to consult road authority

    (1) It shall be the duty of the Controller before—

    (a)    considering an application for a permit; or

    (b)    publishing a notice under regulation 4,

to call upon the appropriate road authority to report to him, after consultation where appropriate with the District Commission in whose district the transport operation falls, whether the routes of operation concerned are, in his opinion, suitable.

    (2) If the report of the road authority indicates that the routes of operation are not suitable, the Controller shall forthwith send a copy of such report to the applicant and call upon him to lodge in writing within a period of 21 days, any representations he wishes to make.

    (3) Upon the expiration of the period referred to in paragraph (2) without hearing from the applicant or having received representations of the applicant in terms of that paragraph, the Controller may refuse such application.

6.    Controller to take into consideration objections

    It shall be the duty of the Controller, on an application for a permit, to take into consideration any representations or objections made under regulation 13 except—

    (a)    a representation or an objection to an application in respect of which the Controller is of the opinion that, having regard to the trivial character of such representation or objection, it is not necessary that any opportunity should be given for representation or objection thereto; and

    (b)    a representation or an objection to an application under section 10(3) of the Act, where, in the opinion of the Controller, the application was made with reasonable expedition and the demand for the use of the vehicle to be authorised under the permit applied for is so urgent as to render compliance with the requirements of this regulation impracticable.

7.    Discretion of Controller in granting permit

    (1) The Controller after consultation with an Advisory Board shall have full power, in his discretion, to grant or to refuse an application for a permit in full or in part.

    (2) The Controller in the exercise of his discretion shall, in particular, have regard—

    (a)    where the applicant is the holder of an existing permit of the same class, to the extent to which he is authorised to operate thereunder for the carriage of goods or passengers for hire or reward;

    (b)    to the previous conduct of the applicant in the capacity of a carrier of goods or passengers;

    (c)    to the number and type of vehicles proposed to be used under the permit and the suitability of the route proposed for such services;

    (d)    in determining the number of vehicles to be authorised, to the need for providing for occasions when such authorised vehicles are withdrawn from service for overhaul;

    (e)    to the extent to which existing rail or road transport might be adversely affected and any representations which may be made in that behalf;

    (f)    to the public interest including the interests of persons requiring transport, as well as those of persons providing facilities for transport;

    (g)    to the payment of reasonable wages and observance of proper conditions of service in respect of employees;

    (h)    when considering applications of foreign operators, to the extent to which reciprocal facilities are made available to Botswana operators;

    (i)    in the case of an application for a B permit, the extent to which the applicant intends that the vehicles proposed to be used under the permit shall be also used for the carriage of goods for hire or reward;

    (j)    where the applicant is a body corporate registered as a company under the laws of Botswana, to whether the members thereof or a substantial number of them are or are not also members of a body corporate, which carries on the business of carrying goods or passengers, registered or incorporated under the laws of some other country;

    (k)    to whether the applicant owns or does not own immovable property situate in Botswana;

    (l)    to the proportion of those who are or will be citizens of Botswana among the applicant's employees engaged or to be engaged in Botswana in the business of carrying goods or passengers;

    (m)    to the proportion of vehicles registered in Botswana among the vehicles proposed to be used under the permit; and

    (n)    to whether granting the application, in full or in part, will or will not in the opinion of the Controller, make a significant contribution to the economic or social development of Botswana.

8.    Decision of the Controller

    The Controller shall give his decision in writing to the applicant and, in the case of refusal, shall give reasons for such refusal.

9.    Issue of permits

    (1) The forms to be used for the issue of permits shall be those prescribed in the Second Schedule and the tokens issued in respect of each permit shall be in the form prescribed in the Third Schedule.

    (2) Where the Controller has delegated his authority under section 3(2) of the Act to grant short-term permits in international traffic at border posts, such permits shall be issued by a customs officer and shall be valid for one journey only.

PART III
Applications and Objections (regs 10-13)

10.    Form of application

    (1) Every application for a permit shall be in Form TS.1 which may be obtained from the Controller or any District Commissioner.

    (2) The application shall be signed by the applicant, and if made by a body corporate, partnership or a firm, it shall be signed by a person duly authorised in that behalf by such body, or a partner or someone authorised by the firm, as the case may be.

    (3) ...

11.    Method of applying

    An application for a permit shall be forwarded directly to the Secretary and shall be accompanied by a fee of P50.00, levied on both Botswana and foreign registered passenger and goods vehicles.

12.    Issue of permits

    Where a permit has been granted, the Controller shall issue such permit only after payment of a fee in respect of that permit as prescribed in the Fourth Schedule, which fee shall be in addition to the application fee prescribed by regulation 11.

13.    Notice of objections, etc.

    (1) Every representation or objection in respect of an application for a permit shall be made in writing, and signed by the person making it and shall state the grounds of such representation or objection.

    (2) If the representation or objection is made by a body corporate or partnership or firm it shall be signed by a person duly authorised in that behalf by such body, or by a partner of the partnership or firm as the case may be.

    (3) Every representation or objection shall be sent to the Controller by registered mail so as to reach him not later than 21 days after the notice of application required by regulation 4 has appeared in the Gazette.

    (4) A copy of such written representations or objections shall be sent by the person making them to the applicant by registered mail at the same time as it is sent to the Controller.

    (5) The Controller may consider written representations or objections, notwithstanding that the requirements of this regulation have not been complied with.

PART IV
Obligations and Rights of Permit Holders (regs 14-22)

14.    Obligations of permit holder

    (1) The owner of a vehicle authorised under Part III of the Act shall—

    (a)    at all time display the token issued in respect of that vehicle conspicuously upon the nearside edge of the windscreen of the vehicle, so as to be visible from the front of such vehicle:

            Provided that, in the case of a trailer, the certificate may be carried on the trailer or in or on the vehicle drawing it at the time;

    (b)    if during the validity of a permit he changes his mailing address, notify the Controller of the new mailing address within 21 days after the date of such change;

    (c)    notify the Controller in writing if he ceases to provide any or all services specified in the permit, whether temporarily or permanently, giving his reasons, and shall send such permit to the Controller for endorsement or cancellation as the case may be;

    (d)    pay an amount of P200.00, if during the validity of a permit he transfers it to another person.

    (2) Any person who contravenes the provisions of this regulation shall be guilty of an offence.

15.    Issue of duplicate permits or tokens

    (1) If any permit or token has, during the validity thereof, been lost, destroyed or defaced, the holder thereof shall forthwith notify the Controller, who shall, if satisfied that it has been lost, destroyed or defaced, cause a duplicate (so marked) to be issued to such holder upon payment of the prescribed fee or fees, and such duplicate shall have the same force and effect as the original permit or token:

    Provided that, in the case of any permit or token which has been defaced, the Controller may, before causing a duplicate to be issued, call for the return of the original permit or token.

    (2) Where a permit or token which has been lost and replaced is recovered, the duplicate permit or token shall be returned to the Controller forthwith for cancellation.

16.    Return of permit to Controller

    (1) If a permit is suspended or revoked or a direction has been given in terms of section 11 of the Act in respect of a permit, the holder thereof shall, within 21 days after a notice to that effect has been delivered to him personally or sent to him by registered mail at the address shown in his application or last notified in accordance with regulation 14(b), send or deliver such permit, together with the token, to the Controller for retention during the time of suspension or for cancellation or alteration, as the case may be, and the Controller shall, on the removal of a suspension, or after alteration, return the permit and the token to the holder.

    (2) If during the currency of a permit the holder thereof disposes, either by sale or exchange, of any vehicle specified therein or otherwise ceases to be the owner of any such vehicle, he shall, within seven days thereafter, notify the Controller and return the permit to him for amendment or cancellation, as the case may be, together with the relevant token.

    (3) Where the holder of a permit has been notified that a variation in the terms of the permit has been approved by the Controller he shall remove from the authorised vehicle such permit and token and shall return them for such variation to the Controller within 21 days of such notification.

    (4) Any person who contravenes the provisions of this regulation shall be guilty of an offence.

17.    Death, bankruptcy, etc., of holder of permit

    Where, owing to the death, incapacity, bankruptcy or liquidation of the holder of a permit or to the appointment of a liquidator or manager in relation to his business, such holder ceases to be the user of any authorised vehicle, the person carrying on the business of the holder shall be deemed to be the holder of the permit if—

    (a)    within 21 days thereafter, he gives notice that the holder has ceased to be the user of such authorised vehicle, and the reason therefor, and the name of the person by whom the business is being carried on, is sent to the Controller; and

    (b)    within 30 days after the sending of such notice, an application for a new permit is duly made:

            Provided that the period during which such person shall be deemed to be the holder of the permit shall in no case be beyond the date on which the permit would have expired but for the occurrence of the said event, and shall terminate immediately the application is disposed of.

18.    Tickets and fares

    (1) Any person authorised to receive fares from passengers or intending passengers shall forthwith issue to each passenger or intending passenger who has paid his fare a ticket showing the amount of such fare, the number of such ticket, the stage or place where the passenger boarded the omnibus or vehicle and where his journey ends.

    (2) Any passenger who has paid his fare may, if the vehicle fails to start on its journey from its starting point within one hour of the time approved in its time-table, or if the operator fails to convey him to his destination within a reasonable time, recover the whole fare paid by him.

    (3) Where a fare is recoverable under paragraph (2), it shall be the duty of the person who received the fare or the person on whose behalf the fare was received if it has been handed over to him to repay it to the passenger on demand.

    (4) A time-table and list of approved fares in the forms prescribed in the Fifth Schedule shall be prominently exhibited in every authorised vehicle.

    (5) No person authorised to receive fares from passengers or intending passengers shall knowingly demand from any such person a fare in excess of the approved fare for the journey undertaken or to be undertaken by that person as specified in the list of approved fares exhibited in the authorised vehicle in question in accordance with this regulation.

    (6) Where any person authorised to receive fares from passengers or intending passengers receives from any such person an amount in payment of a fare in excess of the approved fare for the journey undertaken or to be undertaken by that person specified in the list of approved fares exhibited in the authorised vehicle in question in accordance with this regulation, the person so authorised shall immediately return to that person so much of the amount received as exceeds the approved fare.

    (7) A ticket or a copy thereof or any other document in connection with the issuance of tickets shall be kept available for inspection by a police officer in uniform or by a person duly authorised by the Controller.

    (8) No person who intends to pay the fare shall be refused a ticket and a seat in the first available motor omnibus or vehicle in preference to a latecomer except if there is reasonable belief that he may cause disorder during the journey, and no person who has started the journey may be excluded from the bus except for causing unlawful disorder during the journey.

    (9) Any person who contravenes the provisions of this regulation shall be guilty of an offence.

19.    Departure and arrival times to be observed

    The driver of an authorised vehicle shall take every reasonable step to observe the departure and arrival times specified in the timetable in the vehicle in accordance with regulation 18.

20.    Penalties for failure to observe departure and arrival times

    (1) Any driver of an authorised vehicle who, without reasonable cause the proof of which shall lie on him, fails to observe the departure and arrival times in accordance with the provisions of regulation 19 shall be guilty of an offence.

    (2) Any person guilty of an offence under this regulation shall be liable on conviction—

    (a)    in the case of a first offence to a fine not exceeding P100.00; and

    (b)    in the case of second or subsequent offence to a fine not exceeding P200.00.

    (3) The Controller may, where a person has been convicted more than two times of an offence under this regulation, revoke the permit issued in respect of such vehicle.

    (4) It is a defence to a charge under this regulation if the accused person proves that he was prevented from complying with the provisions of subregulation (1) by stress of weather or other reasonable cause.

21.    Luggage

    (1) A motor omnibus or a vehicle authorised to carry passengers may also carry luggage belonging to such passengers:

    Provided that only light hand luggage shall be carried inside the vehicle and that heavy or awkward luggage shall be carried in a separate luggage compartment or, if a guard rail is provided, on the roof of the vehicle.

    (2) Only light hand luggage belonging to the passengers may be carried in the passenger compartment of a motor omnibus or a vehicle authorised to carry goods as well as passengers.

    (3) The positioning and handling of luggage belonging to passengers in the luggage compartment or in the guard rail shall be the responsibility of the driver and the conductor who shall mark and position it so that the owner will identify it easily.

    (4) Any person who contravenes the provisions of this regulation shall be guilty of an offence.

22.    Use of standby vehicles

    (1) A permit holder may use an authorised standby vehicle or vehicles to meet any additional demand during peak periods in which case the vehicles using the same time-table and under the same permit shall be operated so that the vehicles are within five minutes of each other. In such a case the standby vehicle shall display the same destination name as the vehicle operating the regular service and the words "STANDBY" shall be displayed conspicuously above the windscreen:

    Provided that no passenger who has already started the journey shall be disembarked until he reaches his ultimate destination.

    (2) Any person who contravenes the provisions of this regulation shall be guilty of an offence.

PART V
Appeals (regs 23-26)

23.    Memorandum of appeal and notice of appeal

    (1) Every appeal under section 21 of the Act shall be in the form of a memorandum setting out the grounds of appeal, be signed by the appellant or by his duly authorised representative, if any, and shall be sent to the Controller by registered mail within 21 days from the date of notification of the decision of the Controller.

    (2) The appellant shall, at the time of presenting his memorandum of appeal, or as soon thereafter as possible, serve upon every other person who was a party to the proceedings before the Controller in respect of which the appeal is lodged, a copy of the memorandum of appeal by registered mail.

24.    Controller to forward appeal

    (1) The Controller shall, within seven days of receipt of such appeal, forward sufficient copies of the memorandum of appeal to the members of the Appeal Tribunal, together with his own comments and any relevant documents.

    (2) He shall also inform the appellant that his appeal has been forwarded to the Appeal Tribunal.

25.    Tribunal to fix day for hearing and give notice

    Where a memorandum or appeal is received by the Tribunal, the Tribunal shall, if it does not summarily reject the appeal under section 21(7) of the Act, fix a date for the hearing of the appeal and shall cause notice thereof to be served upon every other person who has under regulation 23(2) been served with a copy of the memorandum of appeal, or upon the appellant's duly authorised representative by registered mail.

26.    Hearing of appeal

    (1) On the day fixed or on any other day to which the Tribunal may adjourn the hearing, the appellant shall be heard in support of his appeal:

    Provided that the appellant shall not, except with the leave of the Tribunal, urge or be heard in support of any ground of appeal not set forth in the memorandum of appeal.

    (2) The Tribunal shall, if it does not dismiss the appeal at once, hear any other person who has been served with a copy of the memorandum of appeal under regulation 23(2) and the appellant shall be entitled to reply.

    (3) Where on the day fixed or on any other day to which the Tribunal may adjourn, the appellant does not appear when the appeal is called for hearing, the Tribunal may make an order that the appeal be dismissed, and if the appellant appears, but any person served with a copy of the memorandum of appeal under regulation 23(2) does not appear, the appeal may be heard in the absence of such person.

    (4) The parties to any appeal may be heard either in person or by their duly authorised representatives.

PART VI
Miscellaneous (reg 27)

27.    Penalties

    Any person guilty of an offence under these Regulations shall be liable in the case of a first offence to a fine not exceeding P200.00, and in the case of a second or subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding P400.00 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, or to both.

FIRST SCHEDULE
ROUTES

(reg. 2)

    (1) Ramatlabama - Lobatse - Gaborone - Mahalapye - Palapye - Francistown - Ramokgwebana and Maun.

    (2) Lobatse - Kanye - Thamaga - Manyana - Ramotswa - Gaborone - Molepolole

    (3) Pilane - Sikwane - Olifantsdrift

    (4) Mahalapye - Makwate - Shoshong - Kalamare - Machaneng

    (5) Serowe - Palapye - Bobonong - Sherwood Ranch - Machaneng

    (6) Francistown - Orapa - Letlhakaneng

    (7) Francistown - Sebina - Tutume - Maitengwe - Matsiloje

    (8) Lobatse - Pitsane - Good-hope

    (9) Lobatse - Mathethe - Mokgomane - Phitshane - Kanye - Ranaka

    (10) Tshabong - Bokspits

SECOND SCHEDULE
INDEX OF FORMS

(reg. 9)

THIRD SCHEDULE
TOKENS FOR PERMITS

(reg. 9)

SPECIMEN TOKEN

FOURTH SCHEDULE
PERMIT FEES

(reg. 12)

1.    "BA" BOTSWANA OPERATORS: ANNUAL AND QUARTERLY PERMIT FEES - DOMESTIC