adminowned by Government.
If this is the case, then Zimbabwe should be a well-developed country with at least five people per car. Many African countries may have 100 to 250 people per car.
But this may be an illusion since the country’s output or GNP does not follow that the country is economically well developed.
The vehicles on the country’s roads have become a menace rather than an economic asset. Some experts say that the country’s insurance industry, which is the backbone of mobilisation of financial resources, should be overflowing with excess funds.
If all these vehicles were properly insured, not just for convenience of acquiring a licence, then there would never have been a liquidity crisis. But, if the truth be told, many vehicles owners opt for third party insurance even when the vehicle is relatively new.
The computerised registration system should be able to identify the type of insurance for every vehicle. The owners of vehicles, which may be under-insured, must be denied a licence until the correct insurance is submitted. This would force vehicle owners to take correct insurance for their vehicles.
It must be of greatest importance for the vehicle registration authorities to check insurance policies of all public transport vehicles and insist that the policies must cover deaths and injuries to passengers.
Another public body should also be in place to supervise the payouts of compensation for the passengers who lose their lives and those injured.
The economic damage due to vehicle population is quite considerable. Not only are roads damaged but the incidence of vehicle accidents cost a lot of money. The situation on our roads at present is unsustainable, economically and socially.
The proliferation of backyard workshops and vehicle spare parts shops has overtaken any other form of business, especially, in the major cities. Some pseudo mechanics are now operating on the streets causing congestion on the roads.
What is interesting is why the economic experts or even the Government and local authorities do not control this flow of vehicles? Surely, money is there to be made like other cities have done. In London, UK, any four-wheel-drive vehicles driven into London is charged 25 pounds per day.
Although this was done to curb congestion in the city centre, the London City Council is collecting much needed revenue, and at the same time decongesting its road network. It is most welcome if the plans to introduce a mass transport system in major cities and towns were to succeed.
Contrary to the apprehension by owners of commuter omnibuses or kombis, that they would lose business, their employees could be absorbed by the new bus system. But they would have to go for further training. The kombi crews would gain an advantage over other job-seekers since they are street wise but will need to be trained to suit the new well defined system.
Whereas it is a welcome development since independence for the previously disadvantaged citizens of this country to be proud owners of vehicles, the responsibility for order on the roads does not rest with the police and local authorities only, but with the drivers as well.
The culture of driving vehicles without regard to the rules of the road has damaged the reputation of Zimbabwean drivers. What is happening on the roads is unacceptable, where drivers can overtake without regard to the safety of other road users. For example, drivers disregard the one lane road and turn it into a three or four lane road.
Why drivers are in such a hurry all the time is something one can never understand. It used to be kombis and taxis that were always to blame for the chaos on the roads. But, of late, it is the elegantly dressed driver in a state-of-the-art vehicle who disregards the rules of the road.
Owning a vehicle should have been turned into an economic asset. Public transport vehicles are the mainstay of any economy. They carry workers to work safely.
These days, you are greatly relieved if you get to work and home safely each working day.
Instead of spending time fighting crime and ensuring the safety of citizens in their homes, the police now spend a lot of their time trying to tame the traffic jungle on the roads. The cost of getting the country’s drivers to behave is considerable. In some instances, it is just economic sabotage caused by vehicle owners and drivers.
Surely, it is not beyond the highly sophisticated population of Zimbabwe to realise that owning a vehicle could be turned into an economic asset to develop the country.
If vehicles were correctly insured, it would follow that the funds from the insurance industry would find its way into banks and companies to kick-start the economic growth. Each and every vehicle owner should play their part in mobilisation of financial resources through insurance companies.
Before a mass public transport system is introduced, a thorough study must be made as to the benefits the system could bring to the economy. It should not just be to decongest the roads in the cities and towns but that the system must add value to the economy.
Some experts doubt that the mass bus system will be viable economically. The predecessor to Zupco bus service relied on subsidies from the local authorities.
Residents paid the subsidy indirectly through increased rates on properties to keep the prices of bus tickets low for workers. This enabled the companies to benefit by keeping production costs down instead of paying transport allowance to workers.
Online Reporter