the Public Service Vehicle (Contract Cars) Licence, he will, for the benefit of the House, obtain from the N…
(No. B/617) Mr B. Babajee (First Member for Savanne & Black River) asked the Minister of Land Transport whether, in regard to the Public Service Vehicle (Contract Cars) Licence, he will, for the benefit of the House, obtain from the National Land Transport Authority, information as to the – (a) requirements and conditions for the issue thereof, and (b) names of the persons having been issued therewith over the past five years, indicating if they are still holders thereof.
Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, with regard to part (a) of the question, I wish to inform the House that I had provided detailed information thereto in my reply to Parliamentary Question B/574 put by the same hon. Member, Mr Babajee, during our Sitting of 24 June 2025. However, I am tabling the information on the requirements and conditions as provided by the National Land Transport Authority as follows. Coming to part (b), Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I am apprised by the NLTA that a total of 4317 contract car licenses has been granted during the last five years, as follows – • 2020 – 518; • 2021 – 296; • 2022 – 412; • 2023 – 75;
75 • 2024 – 2907, and • 2025 – 09. However, only 3650 such licences are valid as at date while 657 have still not been implemented, as yet. Finally, as regards part (c) of the question, I wish to inform the hon. Member that the list of names of persons having been issued contract cars, PSVs, over the last five years, have been compiled. I invite him to come to the Ministry or the NLTA to have access to same. He can eventually touch base with my office for necessary arrangements accordingly. As a last note, there has been several questions on the fleet of contractor cars on our roads. Let me, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, mention that as at now, there are 11,153 contract cars on our roads, 7,781 having been issued from 2015-2024, representing 70% having been granted over the last ten years. The NLTA is of the view that there could be more than what the market needs at the moment.
Yes, hon. Member!
As you just said, there were 2,907 in 2024 and according to my information, these have been done to facilitate money laundering. And, those applicants who applied for it, they are not holding the permit right now. Those permits have been sold. And, according to that information, one permit allows you to buy three cars.
Okay. Now, put your question!
The question is whether those people eligible to hold those permits, according to those criteria. And, according to my information, there is one company – Pankaja Co. Ltd, in Mare D’Albert, and everyone knows – he was, at that time, the right hand of Mr Bobby Hurreeram. He holds 14 of those permits. And, in the West, I won’t give those names, ….
Alright! Alright! Put your question!
Can we have those details if they are eligible to hold those permits? If they are not applicants; they can buy those permits. Is it legal?
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Well, the hon. Member, like I said, I will open the books to him at the NLTA. If he finds anything fishy, we are duty-bound to refer those to the FCC, should there be maldonne, as he stated.
For the public interest, can we have those names tabled and will inquiry be done accordingly?
Well, okay. Section 44 of the Data Protection Act of 2017, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, stipulates – “No exception to this Act shall be allowed except where it constitutes a necessary and proportionate measure in a democratic society, inter alia, an […] objective of general public interest.” Since the hon. Member has invoked public interest, I will table it.
Hon. First Member for Piton and Rivière du Rempart! RIVIERE DU REMPART – WOMEN EMPOWERMENT CENTRE – RE-OPENING