adminAccording to Minister of Transport, Communications and Infrastructural Development, Nicholas Goche, Government has begun working on monitoring mechanisms to ensure vehicles imported into Zimbabwe are safe. Minister Goche said a Zimbabwean resident in Japan had written to the Government notifying them of the possible contamination.
What is comforting is that permanent secretaries of the Ministries of Transport and that of Industry and Commerce are reported to have already started working on establishing what mechanisms are there to ensure that the imported cars are safe. Minister Goche said the concerned Zimbabwean resident in Japan has promised to assist the Government in coming up with monitoring mechanisms to ensure the imported vehicles are safe.
We want to commend this Zimbabwean based in Japan for demonstrating that he is not only patriotic but has the lives of fellow countrymen at heart.
What is clear is that this Zimbabwean has genuine reasons to suspect that some of the vehicles being imported could be contaminated and what is encouraging is that this patriotic citizen has offered to even assist the Government to set up monitoring mechanisms.
The radioactive alert might have come late given the thousands of cars imported into the country since the tsunami-triggered atomic crisis which was described as the worst in 25 years, but it is never too late to take corrective action. The Government should immediately avail resources to, without delay, set up these monitoring mechanisms in Japan to screen imported vehicles so that only clean vehicles find their way to Zimbabwe.
There could be a need to engage the Japanese Government to find out what measures, if any, they have put in place to screen vehicles of radioactive material before exporting them. Zimbabwe like the rest of developing countries mostly on the African continent, is providing a huge market for Japanese second-hand vehicles which in their country could have been material for the dumpsites.
There are fears that Africa could have been turned into a dumpsite for not only second-hand vehicles but contaminated vehicles that could put the lives of thousands of motorists at risk. The latest warning on possible contamination of second-hand vehicles from Japan should be a wake up call for Zimbabwe and the rest of Africa not to readily accept dumpsite material without taking precautions. Does Zimbabwe and the rest of Africa have the capacity to check for say radioactive materials and if the answer is no — what is being done?
The effects of radiation cannot be reversed so what is critical is to take preventive measures hence our urgent call for Government to put in motion mechanisms to screen second hand cars for radioactive material at source. It is not in dispute that second-hand cars from Japan are affordable to the majority of people but that cannot be a justification for exposing people to radiation. We want to once more implore the Government to act with speed to avail resources for these monitoring mechanisms so that those importing vehicles are guaranteed that the vehicles are safe.
Online Reporter