Online Reporter
Freeman Razemba
Senior Reporter
The Government is set to introduce stricter penalties for traffic offenders, including errant drivers and transport operators, as part of a comprehensive new law designed to overhaul road safety and post-accident care.
The measures are outlined in the forthcoming Road Accident Fund (RAF) Bill, which entered its public consultation phase with a launch in Bulawayo this Monday.
Once gazetted, the Bill will establish a fund to provide timely medical aid, funeral expenses, and compensation to victims of road traffic accidents, regardless of who was at fault.
The fund will be financed primarily through Motor Vehicle Insurance premiums and aims to drastically reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030.
The initiative comes in response to alarming road safety statistics. Officially, a traffic crash occurs in Zimbabwe every 15 minutes, resulting in over 35 000 crashes annually.
On average, at least five people are killed every day, with over 1 800 annual deaths and 10 000 injuries.
In a speech delivered on his behalf by Zimbabwe Traffic Safety Council board chairperson Mr Kura Sibanda, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona said the Government is committed to “formulating robust policy, legal, and administrative mechanisms” to transform road safety.
“The constant evolution of transport worldwide presents us with multiple challenges. This calls for Zimbabwe to plan, take tough decisions, and bring sanity to road transport management,” Minister Mhona said on Monday.
The RAF is positioned as a “game changer” that will cut delays in claims processing. Unlike the current fault-based insurance system, which requires victims to prove negligence, the RAF will be a “no-fault” fund.
