Nyashadzashe Ndoro
Zimbabwe is grappling with a staggering road safety crisis, with the country losing a whopping USD 406 million annually to road accidents.
This revelation was made by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Felix Mhona, in response to a question raised by senator Sisasenkosi Ndebele.
The Minister attributed the high number of road accidents to speeding, which is one of the major causes of road fatalities. He revealed that the country is losing close to 2000 lives per annum, with an average of five lives lost daily. This trend, he said, is not sustainable and requires urgent attention.
To combat the problem, the Minister announced that his ministry is working closely with the police and the Vehicle Inspection Department (VID) to enhance awareness programs and enforce speed limits. He also mentioned that Statutory Instrument 118 of 2023, which came into effect on January 1, 2024, requires all public service vehicles to be installed with gadgets to manage speeding.
"I want to assure again the august House that yes, it is quite disturbing given the numbers that we are close to around 15 million and 16 million within the country. We are losing close to 2000 per annum in terms of fatalities which is not sustainable and when it comes to the monetary element, we are losing close to US$406 million per year towards fatalities, injuries, hospitalisations and even causing unnecessary burden to beneficiaries," Mhona said.
"We are saying as a nation, we cannot continue having such numbers where we are losing close to five lives per day and it is not sustainable. It is my humble plea again as we drive, to uphold the sanctity of life in our roads."The Minister revealed that plans are underway to reintroduce speed cameras to monitor and control speeding on the country's roads. He also cited the importance of vehicle registration, stating that all vehicles must be registered with the Road Motor Transportation department before they can operate on the country's roads
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