JOCELYN Gomba (17), a Form Four student at Girl High School in Harare, had her life cut short by an irresponsible commuter omnibus driver who was speeding in the wrong lane when he hit her and she died on the spot.
BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA
The accident also left 35-year-old Odwell Mabanga seriously injured.
On Tuesday, a sombre atmosphere engulfed corner Leopold Takawira Street and Park Lane as pupils from Girls High School and Queen Elizabeth School marched calling for the removal of an illegal rank near the school premises.
This is not about Gomba’s case only, but a number of people who have lost lives due to irresponsible driving by impatient motorists.
Traffic congestion, especially during peak hours, is a menace mainly in Harare, and this has left motorists without an option, but to engage in illegal means to get to their destinations thereby endangering lives of pedestrians.
“We are living in a tragic time when the government and city fathers fail to take action on this wayward driving that is being caused by commuter omnibus operators and taxi pirates and fuelled by congestion,” said Tonderai Hunda (40) of Budiriro.
Traffic congestion is no longer a result of malfunctioning traffic lights which forces drivers to crawl in and out of the city but the influx of second-hand vehicles from Japan. The central business district is now infested by pirate taxis and kombis who drivers are ignorant of the law.
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Harare Residents’ Trust (HRT) director Precious Shumba blasted city fathers and traffic police for failing to deal with the traffic jungle in the capital. He said that is now a common sight to see kombis driving against flow of traffic during rush hour especially at major pick-up points like corner Robert Mugabe Road and Mbuya Nehanda Street.
“Lives have been lost, and the challenge is that streets are narrow, without any ideal parking space. Usually the state police are on the road intersections to help control traffic, but they mostly ignore the offences by the kombi drivers. The police should desist from pursuing fundraising activities, and start helping the local authorities to maintain law and order,” he said.
“The municipal traffic police officers should firstly be put into shifts, working together with the state police to regulate traffic until probably around 2100hrs. The key observation we have made is that towards the end of the working day for most workers, municipal traffic police disappeared and also go home leaving kombis to terrorise pedestrians and other motorists.”
Harare City Council (HCC) recently devised a way of decongesting the city through erecting the Coventry Holding Bay but it seems the city fathers got it wrong as commuter omnibus drivers are still a menace.
In a bid to improve the convenience of commuters, the local authority in 2014 approved a shuttle bus service between the city’s four major bus ranks, but the exercise seem to be fruitless despite the shuttles charging lesser fares.
The shuttle bus charges R3 instead of R5 by the pirate taxis. This public transport system overhaul stems from government’s plan to de-congest major urban centres by phasing out commuter omnibuses by 2016, but the dream seem to be shattered due to lack of implementation.
HCC spokesperson Michael Chideme said the local authority was revisiting some of their master plans and introducing the mass transport system.
“As the local authority we are aware of the congestion problem and we introduced the mass transport system. We are also moving in to enhancing enforcement of traffic by laws. Council is revisiting its transport master plan so that we come up with positive results,” said Chideme.
Arrive Alive Awareness Zimbabwe chief executive officer Isaac Tsikai Simbarasi said despite the congestion, drivers should adhere to road regulations.
“It is sad that we have drivers who believe they are too clever to an extent of abusing the road rules. A driver should be self-censored,” he said.
Apart from the influx of vehicles from other countries, congestion gas been caused by the country’s poor transport infrastructure and systems.
According to the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe, 94% of road accidents in Zimbabwe are a result of human error. An average of 2000 people are killed each year on the roads.
Despite the demonstration by pupils from Girls High School and Queen Elizabeth School to have the illegal commuter omnibus rank removed from their schools’ proximity, nothing has been done.
The demonstration by students from both Girls High School and Queen Elizabeth School yielded nothing as it was business as usual by these defiant kombi drivers who have reigned supreme on Harare’s road network.
There is so much chaos that has been created by these kombi drivers and we urge the Zimbabwe Republic Police to seriously clampdown on the “marauding lions” that have caused untold suffering for the general pedestrian public in Harare.
