When the price of diesel shot up by 20% three nights ago - it sent a shockwave through the economy. One of the most affected sectors is transport and their heavy diesel engines.
Immediately, village bus lines posted notices that they were increasing fares by 50 cents per run.
But, even though the gas pain is real, tonight the Minister of Transport Dr.Louis Zabaneh, is saying that it is completely illegal for any private bus company to raise their fares unilaterally:
Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Minister of Transport
"We have sent out an advisory to all operators those that are not members of the national bus company and indeed anyone that's running a bus run if you will village runs or wherever they are working that there's a a specified rate for operators that must be abided by a ceiling above which they cannot go. So we saw a couple operators trying to increase their rates and we have already advised them that they must stay within the regulated fares."
