Story by Fairstars Mukungurutse
STAKEHOLDERS in the transport sector have pledged to step up road safety awareness and enforcement efforts ahead of the Heroes and Defence Forces holiday, amid a sharp rise in traffic accidents across the country.
The government has sounded the alarm, urging all road users to exercise caution and responsibility during the busy holiday period, which traditionally sees a surge in travel.
“The heroes and defence forces holiday is that time of the year when the country witnesses increased travelling, so we are appealing for drivers to exercise caution and remember that speed thrills but it kills. Let’s respect each other on the roads and let’s have patience because we are experiencing a lot of accidents where we are losing life, and every life lost is one too many,” the Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development, Honourable Joshua Sacco said.
“All transporters must maintain road safety measures. We do not expect to see overloaded or unroadworthy vehicles, so we are appealing for law enforcement agents to arrest all offenders. We are also educating our drivers through refresher courses because life on the road is not easy,” Secretary General for Zimbabwe Passenger Transport Organisation, Mr Wilfred Chibage noted.
“We all understand that prayer alone does not help in safeguarding roads, and this also calls for being responsible. We are witnessing dangerous driving on the roads, especially kombi drivers, who are the most reckless, and it seems they have written their own highway code. This is uncalled for,” Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs in Zimbabwe, president Sheikh Ishmael Duwa added.
With unregistered vehicles raising safety concerns, calls for order on the country’s roads continue to grow louder.
“We are being treated the same as unlicensed vehicles, which are causing havoc, especially in the Harare central business district. For instance, a registered vehicle spends about three hours in the rank and cashes less than those Combis which are operating illegally, but they are the same people who are hiking fares and driving recklessly, putting the lives of commuters in danger,” HAYTA Chairperson, Mr Edmore Gwengwe said.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Republic Police has assured the nation of an increased presence to ensure responsible driving.
“The commissioner general of police has already deployed teams to monitor all major roads and highways during the heroes and defence holidays and we also have a national launch set for August 7, in Mashonaland west where the police together with ministry of transport, Traffic safety council and other stakeholders will be conscientising motorists on road safety,” ZRP National spokesperson, Commissioner Paul Nyathi noted.
Zimbabwe recorded more than 28 000 accidents and 1088 deaths between January and June this year.
