Online Reporter
Freeman Razemba-Senior Reporter
THE Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe is set to transform into an agency with arresting powers to improve its enforcement capabilities by June 2026, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona has said.
Presently, the TSCZ is primarily responsible for raising road safety awareness through persuasion, but as an agency, it will also have added roles to enforce regulations and issue tickets for traffic offences and coordinate road safety efforts.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development Joshua Sacco during the 10th Edition of the Road Safety Journalistic awards ceremony in Harare last Friday, Minister Mhona confirmed the development.
“In thanking the Traffic Safety Council goal-oriented leadership for the above, allow me to pronounce their next task now as the transformation of the TSCZ to a lead Road Safety Agency with some enforcement powers. That currently remains the missing link in the road safety architecture as encompassed in the five pillars I pointed out above.
“Chairman (Mr Kura Sibanda) and your team, you owe it to Zimbabwe to prepare and submit to the Ministry the Principles of Transformation into a road safety agency by June 30, 2026.
“That way it will be considered by Cabinet and the necessary guidance issued this year, Given the gravity of the situation, and considering the current work ethic at TSCZ, I know I am not asking for the impossible, and of course my office remains open in case you need any guidance in this respect,” he said.
Recently, the TSCZ proposed to transform into an agency with arresting powers to improve its enforcement capabilities.
Currently, the council’s role is limited to raising awareness and providing educational campaigns. Unlike the Environmental Management Agency, which can issue fines and enforce compliance, the TSCZ lacks the authority to penalise offenders directly.
Neighbouring countries like Zambia and South Africa have road safety agencies with arresting powers, putting Zimbabwe at a disadvantage in regional road safety efforts.
The proposal to grant TSCZ arresting powers has been submitted to the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development for consideration.
The council has provided the necessary technical input and the matter now awaits the Government’s decision.
If approved, this transformation would align Zimbabwe with regional best practices and strengthen its road safety enforcement mechanisms.
