In Brazzaville, the men who weave through traffic on two wheels every day gathered to hear what the law now expects of them. On April 18, moto-taxi owners and parking managers sat down for a frank session on the rules reshaping their trade.
The meeting was led by Giles Ondele, secretary general in charge of moto-taxi transport. His goal was plain: turn a dense legal text into something riders and owners could actually apply on the road, before fines and checks arrive.
A decree built to formalize a booming trade
At the center of the talks stood Decree 2024-324, signed on July 9, 2024. The text organizes the moto-taxi sector across the Republic of Congo, setting who may ride, where, and under what limits, in a market long shaped by informal habits.
The decree reserves the profession for Congolese citizens aged at least 18. It confines the activity to the outskirts of major cities, caps loads at a single passenger, and fixes a maximum speed of 50 km/h for that passenger.
“We discussed Decree 2024-324, which organizes the moto-taxi sector, as well as order No. 5054 on operating plates,” Ondele told the gathering. The pairing matters: the decree sets the principles, while the order handles the paperwork that proves a rider is in order.
Article 10 draws a clear line
One clause drew particular attention. “Article 10 formally prohibits foreigners from operating public transport by motorcycle,” Ondele said, leaving little room for interpretation among owners weighing who can sit behind the handlebars.
That restriction reframes hiring across the city. Owners who once leased machines to anyone willing to ride now face a narrower pool, and a clear duty to check the status of the drivers they put on the street.
FESYPTC turns the law into plain language
The session unfolded inside the Federation of Unions of Transport and Trade Professionals, known as FESYPTC. The federation served as the room where dense legal language was unpacked, debated, and translated into day-to-day practice.
Holding the meeting under a recognized union banner gave the message weight. For many operators, hearing the rules explained by peers and officials together carries more force than a notice pinned to a wall or shared in passing.
Safe Mobility maps the road to compliance
Bringing riders into line takes more than reading a decree aloud. The group Safe Mobility stepped in as a key partner, tasked with walking operators through the practical steps that turn intentions into valid documents.
Its representative, Tino Ovaga, outlined a two-phase plan. First comes a two-week training period. Then follows administrative support to secure the registration cards, license plates, and permits that the new framework demands of every working rider.
The approach acknowledges a simple truth. A speed limit or an age rule means little if drivers cannot navigate the offices, forms, and fees standing between them and a legal status they can show at a checkpoint.
Provisional papers, a real signal of intent
The day closed on a symbolic note that still carried practical meaning. Organizers handed out provisional documents, issued while the definitive papers are being prepared, to mark each operator’s place in the process.
Those interim papers act as proof that a rider has entered the system rather than waited it out. For owners and conductors alike, the gesture turned an abstract decree into a tangible first step they could hold in their hands.
What it means for Brazzaville’s daily commute
For the families, students, and workers who rely on moto-taxis to cross Brazzaville, the stakes are concrete. The single-passenger rule and the 50 km/h cap aim at the crashes and overloaded rides that have long shadowed the service.
Confining the trade to city outskirts also reshapes where these motorcycles operate, nudging riders away from the densest central arteries. How firmly that line holds will depend on enforcement, and on whether operators feel the rules are applied evenly.
For now, the message from the April 18 meeting is one of preparation rather than punishment. By gathering owners early, explaining the text, and pointing to a clear path toward valid papers, organizers signaled that compliance is meant to be reached, not merely demanded.
The coming months will test that promise. Training sessions, document drives, and checks on the ground will show whether Decree 2024-324 becomes a lived standard for Brazzaville’s moto-taxis, or another text that struggles to keep pace with the city’s restless traffic (Vox Congo).