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Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
GOVERNMENT, in partnership with technology institutions, is developing a device that is capable of testing for a total of 21 different dangerous drugs apparently being abused by some reckless motorists as part of a raft of measures to combat road carnage, the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) managing director, Mr Munyaradzi Munodawafa has said.
Of late, breathalysers have been the only device that was being used to test for alcohol intoxication.
But with an average of five people dying daily, while 24 get injured due to road traffic accidents in Zimbabwe, road carnage has become a huge cause for concern.
This has necessitated intentions by Government to transform the TSCZ into an authority, a move that will give more powers and responsibilities to the council.
In an interview on the sidelines of the launch of the festive season traffic road safety campaign in Manicaland recently, Mr Munodawafa said: “The Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe is being transformed into the Traffic Safety Authority or Traffic Safety Agency as has been announced by Government. The intention is to increase the roles, responsibilities and mandate of the council.
“Currently our powers have been limited to persuasion and moral suasion, but with the transformation into an agency,this will also come with the power of enforcement.
“Yes, breathalysers have been very effective and focus mainly on alcohol and have been used in many countries, Zimbabwe included. We have been approached by some institutions that are coming up with solutions that go beyond just alcohol. While the breathalyser was good and it focused on alcohol, what we now have is a society that is taking some drugs other than alcohol that include mutoriro, guka, musombodia and so on.
“This solution seeks to test up to 21 different types of intoxication. We believe that as we go forward, this is something that we want to deploy. We want such solutions to be tested and approved by our Government analysts. We are aware that we need to tweak our statutes so that results from such devices are acceptable in our courts of law,” he said.
In a separate interview, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister, Honourable Felix Mhona said: “We have been witnessing an increase in the number of road traffic accidents, thus we have found it necessary to raise the bar and raise awareness. All along, the approach has been reactive, but we are now saying we need to be proactive.
“We are aware that before the advent of the Second Republic, many were not aware of the role of the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe. We are now moving a step further and saying, let us have this Traffic Safety Council transformed into an authority so that the powers vested in them will be more influential to manage some of the issues affecting road safety. Currently, they might not have the powers because the enabling legislation is not in place. We will be working on this in Parliament.”
Questioned on the effect of the change from a council to an authority, Minister Mhona said: “We are saying they are currently hindered in their operations because of the legislation that is there. For example, among many other issues, the one to do with the Road Accident Fund is not in place.
“If it is put in place, it will enable us to reimburse, pay bills, take care of surviving victims and taking care of those who would have been maimed on our roads. We are happy that we now have a fully constituted TSCZ board as well as vibrant management. We cannot continue losing lives on our roads in this manner.”
Meanwhile, Minister Mhona handed over a consignment of blankets and bedsheets to Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital in Mutarethat were sourced by the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe.
International humanitarian organisation, Red Cross Society of Zimbabwe also added some toiletries and menstrual hygiene stuff to the items donated to the same hospital.
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