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NewsDay

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Road carnage: Govt’s criminal neglect to blame

Opinion & Analysis
ONCE again, a dark cloud hangs over our country, in the wake of another devastating accident that as of early yesterday had claimed some 43 lives along the Harare-Chirundu Road.

ONCE again, a dark cloud hangs over our country, in the wake of another devastating accident that as of early yesterday had claimed some 43 lives along the Harare-Chirundu Road.

Comment: NewsDay Editor

35-people-died-and-46-seriously-injured-when-a-two-buses-were-involved-in-accident-at-the-35-km-peg-along-the-Harare-Nyamapanda-road-yesterday-morning

The horrific accident happened around midnight on Wednesday.

As has become the norm, the authorities will find someone to blame, the bus driver or the bus company, but we find fault with none other than the government, in particular the Transport and Infrastructural Development ministry.

We sympathise with the families of the deceased and join them in this their darkest hour. We also wish a speedy recovery to those injured in the horrendous accident. We will not buy the government’s crocodile tears. Clearly, this administration has failed the people of Zimbabwe and could do better.

The recent holding of a ground-breaking ceremony to signal the beginning of work to rehabilitate the Harare-Masvingo-Beitbridge Highway, while welcome, is probably too little and too late now for those that have lost their lives once again. We hope work to dualise the Harare-Chirundu Highway will start sooner than expected. Many families have lost breadwinners on that highway, but no investment has been put to expand/dualise the project, yet we have an infrastructure component in the Transport ministry. What irony!

Zimbabwe’s road network remains a death trap and yet we have a government which continues to make public pronouncements of its wish to rehabilitate roads with little in terms of real action.

President Robert Mugabe’s official signal for the commencement of works is only, in our considered view, a political gimmick to hoodwink Zimbabweans into the false hope that something is being done. This is shown by the wild claims by Transport minister Joram Gumbo that some 300 000 jobs will be created.

Instead of looking at how the process of rehabilitating the roads can be expedited, Gumbo and his principal, as well as others in government, are rubbing their hands in glee at the prospects of using this for a political spin to push their 2,2 million jobs charade, as well as the contracts that come with this.

Our call to the government is simple: Stop politicking and for once do something to ameliorate the suffering of the majority of the people. The carnage on our roads can be reduced drastically if the government puts its shoulder to the wheel and do what is supposed to be done.

Public transport operators should also take the flake for fuelling road carnage by using defective vehicles and overworking their drivers.

It would be gravely unfortunate if the whispers doing the rounds that the Chinese company awarded the tender for the road is blacklisted and cannot access funds are true. It would also be a travesty of justice to the lives of those who continue to pay the ultimate price on our roads if the political bickering besetting the road deal is confirmed true.

We urge Mugabe to stop the dithering. There is no need to sacrifice the lives of citizens on the altar of expediency.

Zimbabweans deserve better leadership and you, Mr President, can provide that if you really wanted.