Permit Backlogs Are Costing Drivers Their Livelihoods

Hundreds of ride-hailing drivers in Windhoek are losing months of income – not because they have broken any rules, but because the system meant to regulate them cannot keep up. Yango Namibia and its partner network are sounding the alarm over a permitting backlog at the road transport authority that is stripping compliant drivers of their ability to earn a living. These drivers have submitted all required documentation, paid all required fees, and done everything asked of them. Yet many have waited up to 12 months for permit approvals, with no clear timeline, no transparent status updates, and in some cases, unexplained requests to reapply from scratch.

The financial toll is severe. While they wait, drivers are being forced to purchase temporary permits at N$850 per month, an ongoing cost with no guarantee of resolution, while simultaneously being unable to operate and generate the income those permits are meant to enable. For drivers who depend on this work to support their families, the backlog is not a bureaucratic inconvenience. It is a livelihood crisis.

The company is formally calling on the Ministry of Works and Transport to intervene, to streamline permit processing, provide clear and transparent communication on application status, and establish a transitional bridging mechanism that allows documented, compliant drivers to continue working while their applications are being processed.

The system was designed to protect the public. It should not, through administrative delay, punish the very operators trying to work within it.

Press Contact: pr@yango.com