Industrial Development Authority bans licensing TokTok manufacture

CAIRO – 1 April 2019: The Industrial Development Authority (IDA) decided to ban the licensing of TokTok assembly and manufacturing plants in the country; this comes as part of the government's plans to replace them with vans carrying seven passengers.

Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli earlier discussed with governors granting van licenses as an alternative to TokTok. He ordered the suspension of TokToks' new licenses for a temporary period to curb the spread of this negative phenomenon.

The new traffic law sets rules regulating TokToks through banning them from moving on highways and main streets and districts, and allowing them to only move in slum areas and narrow streets.

TokTok drivers have experienced rejection from the officials, with several financial penalties imposed on driving unlicensed tricycles in Cairo.

The Parliament urged to realize that driving TokToks "has become a source of income for many citizens," trying to reverse the chaotic theme attached to the tricycles' drivers, who are blamed for traffic congestion in several districts in the capital.

“TokToks are an unwelcomed phenomenon, as they cause most of the road accidents. By legalizing them, we aim at eliminating illiteracy, drug addiction, drugs’ illegal trade and accidents,” Minister of Local Development Mahmoud Shaarawy stated in March.

TokTok has raised controversy in the country since it appeared in 2005. However, satisfying alternatives have not yet been given.