Muchaneta Chimuka
DELTA Corporation has recognised its haulage truck drivers and forklift operators for observing road safety rules and regulations at its 2026 Driver of the Year Awards held at Delta Transport Service in Ruwa last Friday.
The awards celebrate drivers who demonstrated disciplined and accident-free service during the year, while encouraging continued commitment to safe driving on Zimbabwe’s roads.
Speaking on behalf of the company, Group Treasurer Mr Tumai Mafunga said the awards were a tribute to the employees who carried the Delta promise across the country.
He said the initiative was also aimed at motivating drivers to maintain high standards of professionalism and road safety.
“Our fleet gives us strength. Our brands give us reach. But our people give us momentum,” he said.
“Our trucks carry the Delta name; our drivers and operators carry the Delta promise. It’s a year of milestones, and it is our duty to make sure that we reduce road accidents at all costs.”
Mafunga said the company’s trucks operated a total of 16 million kilometres in the past financial year, 13 million of which were completed by the internal forklift.
“The company’s forklift operators also logged a staggering 400 000 operational hours,” Mr Mafunga said.
“To qualify for the Driver of the Year Awards, nominees had to meet rigorous criteria: permanent employment, an accident-free record for the financial year, a clean telematics record, sound vehicle handling, and a clean disciplinary record.
“A clean record is like a well-serviced engine: it does not happen by accident. It takes daily checks, steady hands, and the discipline to stay in the right lane when no one is watching.”
He said the competition was not a mere formality but a three-stage gauntlet.
Mr Mafunga said they rate their drivers via three stages, which include: Stage 1 (Preliminaries): Practical driving assessments saw 65 HMV drivers advance.
Learn Road Rules, Stage 2 (Semi-finals): Theory and practical tests narrowed the field to 15, and Stage 3 (Finals): The top 15 went head-to-head at the Delta Driver Training School.
“To ensure fairness, the finals were independently adjudicated by officers from the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ), and the Vehicle Inspectorate Department (VID),” he said.
“Delta’s Internal Audit Division also reviewed every stage. We really appreciate the critical support of public-private partnerships in road safety.”
Mafunga said, between January and November 2025, Zimbabwe recorded more than 54 000 crashes and 2 175 deaths—more than six lives lost every day, at an estimated cost of 3 percent of GDP a year.
“Behind every statistic is a name, a family and an empty seat at the dinner table. When a Delta driver arrives safely, a shelf is stocked, a business trades and a family is fed,” he said.
Mr Allowance Sango, the director of the Vehicle Inspectorate Department, commended Delta for sustaining the competition for more than three decades—since its inception in October 1990.
“When a company invests in the skills and attitudes of its drivers, it is not only protecting its own people and assets; it is making our roads safer for everyone who uses them,” he said.
He said the Driver of the Year Awards are there to raise driving standards, preserve human life, improve asset care, and build a road safety culture—harmonising fully with the Ministry of Transport’s mandate.
“Inspections can certify a vehicle, but only discipline can certify a driver. This is public-private partnership at its best,” he said.
“Delta brings the investment in training, and the public institutions bring independent standards and oversight. When business invests, and Government verifies, the nation wins,” he said.
Sango added that ZIMSTAT figures for the second quarter of 2025 alone showed over 15 000 crashes and 624 deaths, nearly seven every day.
He said the international research shows roughly 94 percent of crashes involve human error.
