Online Reporter
The death toll from the Kariba ferry disaster had by yesterday risen 92, a confirmation that the Rural Infrastructure Development Authority (RIDA) passenger ferry had almost double its carrying capacity of 90 passengers given that 77 passengers were rescued.
This alone points to high degree of negligence on the part of the authorities who were supposed to control the numbers boarding the ferry. Overloading on its own is a recipe for disaster and the situation was made worse by failure to heed adverse weather warnings.
Safety precautions were thrown out of the window on this fateful day as the passengers allowed to board the ferry could not all be supplied with life jackets. According to survivors, they had to scramble for the few life jackets available when the ferry was already sinking and as such very few got the jackets hence the high death toll.
President Mnangagwa has declared the accident a State of Disaster to enable Government to mobilise the required resources and take extraordinary measures to assist affected families.
Government also made a commitment to assist vendors and business operators who lost their goods as a result of the tragedy.
President Mnangagwa has since directed that another boat be secured so that transport services for the affected communities are restored as soon as possible. In a statement soon after the accident, President Mnangagwa said he was deeply saddened by the Lake Kariba tragedy and expressed his deep condolences to the affected families.”I am deeply saddened by the tragic boat accident on lake Kariba on Tuesday. On behalf of the Government and the nation, I extend our deepest condolence to the grieving families,” he said. President Mnangagwa has since ordered an immediate overhaul of the country’s maritime safety systems to ensure the country’s waters are safe.
The Kariba accident was as a result of a combination of strong winds locally known as Binga Wave, overloading and general lax in enforcing safety rules and regulations.
The passengers said they pleaded with the captain not to proceed with the journey given the weather conditions but he ignored them and instead prayed for journey mercies.
The Kariba accident should be a wake- up call for maritime safety agencies and security forces who should, without delay, act on President Mnangagwa’s directive to overhaul the safety systems. We appreciate the fact that at times accidents are unavoidable especially if there is a sudden change in weather conditions but in this particular accident authorities were warned of the adverse weather conditions before the ferry left the harbour.
There is a need to tighten control systems to ensure all safety rules and regulations are observed by ferry operators. The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development should, without delay, tighten control systems to improve safety on our waters.
There is a need to ensure there is no repeat of an accident of this magnitude and this is only possible if authorities strictly enforce safety rules and regulations.
