BY MIRIAM MANGWAYA The ruling Zanu PF party has urged government to impound all uninsured buses in a bid to reduce road traffic accidents in the country.
The issue was discussed during the Zanu PF politburo meeting on Wednesday in Harare, which recommended that government impounds all uninsured vehicles.
Zanu PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa told journalists after the politburo meeting that if public utility vehicles were insured, this would force transport operators to ensure that their buses were properly serviced to avoid accidents.
“We have an issue which was raised by the Local Government minister July Moyo about accidents which are happening involving buses which are not insured,” Mutsvangwa said.
“The law says buses must be insured so that the risk associated with accidents is factored into the appropriate industry of this country.
Those who operate buses without insurance are warned. If they are impounded, don’t say you were not warned.
This is what the politburo has called on the government and the Transport ministry to do.
“We can’t have irresponsible businesspeople who run risky transport companies, and they want to make profits without factoring in what will happen in case of accidents. Insuring their buses will make them careful about the condition of their buses because there will be a running expense on their account.
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“The insurance companies will remind them that their buses are not in order, and to make sure that their drivers are not drunkards, careless and that they take due care.”
On December 24, 2021, six people died while 54 others were injured when a Beta bus collided with a fuel tanker at the 242km peg along the Harare-Mutare Highway.
On the same day, one person died while 15 others were injured, eight of them seriously, when a Harare-bound Munhenzva cross-border bus they were travelling in burst its tyre and landed on its roof in the Matshiloni area along the Beitbridge-Masvingo Highway.
Motorists have often blamed the bad state of the roads for the surge in road traffic accidents.
- Follow Miriam on Twitter @FloMangwaya
