ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Security forces and some civil servants have been banned from driving taxis under a new ruling from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)’s Interior Ministry.
“All officers and employees of interior security forces, Asayesh, police, Zeravani, civil defense, citizenship office, traffic police, and border and customs police, as well as Peshmerga ministry employees and all armed forces of the Kurdistan Region and Iraqi government are banned from the taxi driving profession,” reads the decree, dated January 31 and publicized on Sunday.
Employees of the KRG’s foreign affairs office are also barred from driving cabs.
Some exceptions will be granted for those who are low down on the ladder in the civil service ranks, on condition they obtain permission from their place of work. Permits will have to be renewed annually.
The ruling took effect immediately.
In the past five years of financial hardship and austerity measures, many people started driving taxis to supplement or replace their income. Hailing a cab in the Kurdistan Region cities, it was not uncommon to discover the driver was a Peshmerga or a teacher who had not been paid his salary for months.
The new ruling comes amid an overhaul of the taxi business. Late last month, the KRG issued new regulations demanding all drivers register, and display their details in the cabs. The move is part of a bid to prevent harassment by drivers.