BERTHA MASAMVU
Government will soon introduce a new law to curb road carnages that have claimed hundreds of lives so far this year.
Transport and Infrastructural Development minister Felix Mhona Mhona said the government was stopping at nothing to end road carnages adding that a new Statutory Instrument will be issued soon to deal with a number of issues that will lead to stopping road carnages.
Among other issues the law would deal with, he said, was ensuring the right age requirement for bus drivers is met while fixing the maximum speed for buses.
“The law will make sure buses that are brought in the country are fixed in a manner that makes sure they do not go above 100km/h,” Mhona said in Dotito, Mashonaland Central province after visiting the scene of the CAG bus accident that claimed seven lives.
“We have excitable drivers who are also inexperienced and underage. We will address all this in our new law that is coming soon.”
He said Zimbabwe was faced with a massive backlog of drivers’ licenses adding the soon to be introduced plastic discs will ease the situation.
“It will be acceptable in 27 countries in and out of SADC. There is a code that shows everything about the driver and on the 19th of this month, there will be an official launch of the license. It will also reduce the making of fake drivers’ licenses,” Mhona said.
“We had a backlog of over 600 000 on drivers’ licenses and this will ensure we bring this to an end. We were having problems with licenses.”
He said the government was working closely with the Zimbabwe National Roads Authority (ZINARA) and the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe to ensure reduction of carnage on the roads and rehabilitation of those in need.
ZINARA board chairperson George Manyaya and his TSCZ counterpart Kura Sibanda accompanied Mhona.
