Widows in the public transport sector have been warned against handing over their operating permits to boyfriends.
This warning comes amid concerns that some men allegedly disappear after securing control of the permits, leaving the women and their families without a source of income.
The concern was raised by Eswatini Commercial Amadoda Chairman Dumisa Mamba, who said he had observed what he described as an abnormal pattern that was holding back women in the transport sector.
Mamba said women often found themselves disadvantaged because, in many households, the husband had been the person running the transport business, despite the permit and other assets ultimately benefiting the family.
He said when the husband dies, some widows struggle to take over the business and could lose the permit, licence, King’s Consent or even the vehicle that had helped sustain the family.
“Since I met them, I have had the luck to find something I call abnormal that delays the progress of women,” Mamba said, explaining that the problem became apparent through his professional interactions with women in the transport industry.
He said there were instances where the man had been responsible for the day-to-day running of the business, only for the woman to inherit the responsibility after his death, without having sufficient information or control over the business.
Mamba said this could leave widows vulnerable to losing assets that were meant to support them and their children. He explained that the transfer of a King’s Consent was not straightforward and required proper documentation to establish who was responsible for administering the deceased person’s estate.
He said a letter from the Master of the High Court’s office, together with an affidavit stating who should be responsible for the estate on behalf of the family, was required before changes could be made.
“We do not welcome just anyone,” Mamba said, stressing that the process was intended to safeguard the interests of the deceased’s family.
He cited an incident at the Luve branch involving a man identified as Magagula, who died and whose wife subsequently lost the King’s Consent.
However, National Road Transport Council (NRTC) Finance Committee member Muziwethu Masuku said the challenges faced by widows in the transport sector went beyond administrative procedures. Masuku said he had witnessed several cases during his time on the NRTC board in 2015 where widows lost control of their operating permits to men, who were initially appointed as executors of their late husbands’ estates.
He said, in some cases, the men were romantically involved with the widows and eventually became their boyfriends.
“What happens in the transport sector is painful,” Masuku said, recalling cases he had witnessed.
According to Masuku, some widows would initially support their boyfriends taking over the permits, only to return months later alleging that the permits had been taken from them without their knowledge. He said there were cases where a widow would actively motivate for the permit to be transferred to her boyfriend, despite the asset being part of her late husband’s estate.
“Six months later, she comes back without a permit to report the executor, saying it was taken from her without her knowledge,” Masuku said.
He said the situation highlighted the vulnerability of women during the mourning period, when they could make decisions without fully considering their long-term consequences.
Masuku called for measures to protect widows from making irreversible decisions soon after losing their spouses. He proposed that the law should prevent changes to transport permits for a defined period following the death of an operator.
“There is a need to build a barrier to protect women in mourning,” he said. Masuku suggested that the first 12 months following the death of a transport operator should be protected, with no changes to permits allowed during that period. He said this would give widows sufficient time to mourn, assess their circumstances and make informed decisions about the future of the family business.
“This will give the wife a period to critically think and make decisions wisely,” he said.
Masuku said the issue was particularly concerning because some men allegedly left almost immediately after securing the permits in their own names.
“You find that these men even leave immediately after they get the permits under their names,” he said.
