Following the statement from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport dated June 28, which stipulates that new transport fares will be announced on July 11 and be effective from August 1, taxi operators say they intend to file a court application in order to implement their proposed fares which were supposed to have been effective on July 1. New fares were said to be M10 for 4+1 while the minibuses will be M9 and M6.50 for buses. Increment for long distances in the lowlands is to be 72 cents for minibuses and 59 cents for buses while in the highlands it is 89 cents for minibuses and 65 cents for buses. The fares were announced on June 4. However, two days later (June 6), Minister Prince Maliehe issued a statement which suspended the new fares. The Maseru Region Taxi Operators (MRTO) Chairperson Mr. Mokete Jonase said: “We seek court interdict because the Minister makes decisions without consulting us, and this new letter which states that fare prices will be announced next week Wednesday was compiled without our consent. “The first letter in which the Minister suspended the prices, as operators, we saw it on social media.” He added: “We need the court to intervene seeing that the Minister makes all the decisions regarding our business on his own. We need the prices to be implemented as soon as possible because they were supposed to have been effective on Sunday July 1. We cannot afford to have these inconveniences.” Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister of Public Works and Transport Mr. Tšehlo Ramarou on June 6 during a press briefing had said that the suspension followed complaints by the public that they feel they were not represented; hence, Minister Maliehe found it fitting to suspend the fare hike so as to review them. Mr. Jonase indicated that they will embark on public consultations, adding that they will not take long. He mentioned that this suspension does not mean that the increment will not be implemented, highlighting that they will be implemented once the consultations are complete. He emphasised that he is not sure if by then they will have been announced or would have changed. However, efforts to speak to the Minister and his Deputy were fruitless as their phones were not answered. Lena