President Emmerson Mnangagwa has called for urgent and coordinated action to curb rising road traffic accidents after 24 people lost their lives in three separate crashes recorded within five days.
In a statement released on Thursday, the President expressed deep concern over the increasing loss of life on the country’s roads, saying the disturbing trend demands immediate intervention from all responsible authorities.
“In a space of five days, our Nation has witnessed three major road traffic accidents in which 24 innocent lives have perished,” said President Mnangagwa.
The latest accident occurred along the Gokwe-Kwekwe Road where a head-on collision involving a passenger bus and a haulage truck claimed 10 lives.
President Mnangagwa described the accidents as a national tragedy and called on Government departments and road safety agencies to intensify efforts aimed at protecting motorists and passengers.
“This grave turn of mishaps on our roads must exercise our collective conscience and spur Government Departments and Agencies involved in ensuring road safety to act with urgency and greater coordination so the carnage is stopped,” he said.
The President said drastic measures were now required to deal with reckless driving and the growing number of unroadworthy vehicles on Zimbabwe’s roads.
“The latest spate of accidents calls for drastic measures and lasting solutions targeting irresponsible behaviour and un-roadworthy vehicles on our roads,” he said.
President Mnangagwa also directed authorities to accelerate the re-establishment of road maintenance units throughout the country and ensure adequate resources are availed for rehabilitation works on roads damaged by adverse weather conditions.
“I am also directing Government to speed up the re-establishment of road maintenance units across the country, and to avail adequate resources for impactful remedial work on our weather-damaged highways and roads,” he said.
Secretary for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Nick MangwanaMangwana urged motorists to exercise caution and cooperate with authorities as Government continues implementing road rehabilitation programmes across the country.
Authorities have repeatedly warned against speeding, reckless overtaking, overloading and operating defective vehicles, which remain among the major causes of fatal accidents.
President Mnangagwa conveyed condolences to families who lost loved ones in the recent crashes and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
“As I condole with, and extend Government assistance to the bereaved and affected families, I wish all those injured in the three accidents speedy recovery,” he said.
