LEGISLATORS have ordered the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development to prepare a ministerial statement outlining government intervention measures on road traffic accidents including policies on compensation for the victims.
by VENERANDA LANGA
The issue came up last week as MPs noted that there has been a sharp increase in fatal bus accidents where victims struggled to receive compensation as government had no clear-cut compensation policies.
The MPs’ concerns were triggered by a horrific accident that claimed 43 lives when a Lusaka-bound King Lion bus veered off the road and rammed into a tree in Nyamakate on June 8 this year.
Deputy Transport minister Michael Madanha blamed the high incidences of accidents to unroadworthy vehicles, poor conditions of roads and the incessant rains that left potholes, as well as human error.
“Our major problem is that drivers are flouting road rules, and in reference to the King Lion bus (Nyamakate bus accident), we had reports that the driver could have been excessively speeding,” Madanha said.
“There are also reports that a tyre burst, and yes, accidents occur but we can minimise their number.”
Madanha said government would want all drivers to be competently trained and should have proper documentation.
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He said some drivers fraudulently acquired their drivers’ licences, hence the human error aspect in road accidents.
“We understand that most of these people that die or get injured in road accidents are uninsured, and as a result ambulance and fire brigade services are reluctant to respond because they are afraid of the expenses that will be incurred because they may not be able to pay for the expenses.
“They will need drugs at hospitals and yet most of these people have no medical aid cover. This is the greatest challenge that we are facing as a ministry,” he said.
Government has only been assisting families of people that die in road accidents with only $200 which is used to buy coffins.
Goromonzi West MP Biata Beatrice Nyamupinga described the government’s $200 funeral aid as a pittance.
“We are talking of people like an old woman from the communal areas, who is not insured and is on a journey but is involved in an accident and unfortunately they die. Government must have policies in place to take care of them. A lot of women died in the bus disaster at Nyamakate,” Nyamupinga said.
