Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve
Zimbabwe is facing a road safety crisis, with an average of five people dying every day in traffic accidents, prompting the Government to announce a tough new enforcement regime targeting police and vehicle inspection authorities.
Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona revealed the alarming figures while addressing the Senate last week. “We are actually worried as a Ministry with the numbers that we are witnessing on our roads, especially fatalities and even injuries. On average, we are witnessing five deaths per day, and per year we are in excess of 2 000,” said Minister Mhona.
The Minister said the Government is now putting the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and Vehicle Inspection Department (VID) directly on the line. Talks with the Minister of Home Affairs are underway to close glaring enforcement loopholes.
A troubling pattern has emerged where vehicles involved in fatal accidents are discovered to have improper documentation even after passing manned roadblocks. To curb this, a new accountability framework has been agreed upon.
“We have agreed that going forward, we will not take it lightly. Police and VID must ensure that if anything happens after that bus passes through a manned roadblock and is involved in an accident, the officials must be taken into account. They must be liable for whatever happens,” said Minister Mhona.
The Minister also stressed the role of technology to reduce human error and possible collusion between motorists and enforcement agents. Plans are underway for a traffic management system with surveillance cameras and the procurement of breathalysers to combat drunk driving.
Despite these measures, Minister Mhona noted that over 90 percent of road accidents are caused by human error. He urged all drivers to value life and follow road rules, adding that public education campaigns by the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe are ongoing.
The Government says the new crackdown aims to save lives and restore discipline on Zimbabwe’s roads.
