Clean up, clean up, everybody do their share

The new Passenger Transport Confirmation Letter Process for 2026 is government finally tightening the screws in a way that can actually be measured and enforced (see related story). Minister of TEATT Grisha Heyliger-Marten is pushing a more structured process, two tracks, one for individual bus and taxi operators, one for companies and other legal entities. That alone is a signal that they are trying to stop the usual mix-up and delay that turns every process into a headache.

After multiple investigations by the Integrity Chamber and SOAB, and years of public frustration about how transport operates, government is moving to address the problem. The minister said she would grab the bull by the horns, and this is what that looks like. When a system is loose, it encourages more of the same: more vehicles, more confusion, more “I doing my thing,” and then we all sit in the same traffic together complaining.

And the deadline matters. February 27, 2026. Not “sometime after.” Not “when I get a chance.” Not “just help me out.” If you miss it, the minister has already warned what can happen: delays, disruption, inactive status, and no promise that late processing will save you. After that date, the ministry has to move on, suffer what may, because that is how reform works. If deadlines do not mean anything, then the whole system stays exactly the way it has been.

Everybody wanted the clean-up. Everybody wanted the rules. Everybody wanted fairness for the operators who do things the right way. Well, now the clean-up is here. So we cannot turn around and undermine it with our usual culture of excuses.

If you know a taxi driver, a bus operator, or someone running vehicles under a company permit, tell them now: do not wait until the last minute. Get the documents in, make sure the CRIB is ready, make sure the road tax proof is there, and make sure the vehicle meets the basics. Because if they miss the deadline, that is not “government wicked,” or "oh lawd yuh killin meh", that is them choosing to gamble with their own livelihood. Don't be that person who shouts for “order” but then defends disorder the second it benefits a friend, a cousin, a neighbor, or yourself.

A minister actually acting on recommendations can feel strange in this place, but apparently, pinch yourselves, this is not a dream. The clean up is happening. The public should support the effort, not sabotage it. We cannot keep crying for reform and then panicking when reform finally shows up at the door.

"Clean up, clean up, everybody do their share."....Isn't funny how a subject can trigger you to start whistling or humming a children's song?

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