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Zimbabwe government training young women to drive public transport

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GOVERNMENT has started training young women drivers in the country to drive public transport and is targeting more than 400 000 drivers by end of year.

GOVERNMENT has started training young women drivers in the country to drive public transport and is targeting more than 400 000 drivers by end of year.

MOSES MATENGA

Speaking on the sidelines of a media workshop, Zimbabwe Youth Council (ZYC) director Livingstone Dzikira yesterday said the programme was launched in Chitungwiza on Tuesday with 81 young people, the majority being female, in attendance.

“Driving is not supposed to be an elite skill. We want to empower our youths so that they can drive taxis, tractors, trucks and kombis to increase employability,” Dzikira said.

“If the taxi or kombi system was managed by young women, there would be no use of violence and foul language in our streets and at ranks. The minister is also talking to the ministry responsible for the Vehicle Inspection Department so that the charges of $20 to get a learner’s licence are reduced.”

ZYC is working with the National Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe in the project. The programme, Dzikira said, would see several Voluntary Training Centres (VCTs) in the country being utilised to equip young people with drivers’ licences. Said an official in the Ministry of Youth: “This is a serious project obviously involving male and females, but with a bias towards females. This came up after realising that women are responsible drivers and there was need to give them that responsibility.”

There are few, if not none, women drivers in the public transport sector. The male drivers have become notorious for among other things dangerous driving, speeding off from traffic police, using foul language against commuters and other criminal activities.