Harare, (New Ziana) – The spike in road traffic accidents endured with the second quarter of the year witnessing an almost 10 percent increase, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) has reported.
Zimbabwe experiences a road traffic accident every 15 minutes resulting in 150 deaths every month with reckless driving, inadequate enforcement of traffic laws and use of defective vehicles among the major causes.
Also unlicensed driving, texting, and alcohol consumption have been cited as being behind the RTAs. President Emmerson Mnangagwa in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) earlier this month, expressed concern at the alarming rate of road traffic accidents and promised more stringent measures to safeguard lives.
In a report on second quarter transport statistics, ZIMSTAT’s services and statistics manager, Mukoki Kureva said 14 280 road traffic accidents were reported during 2nd quarter this year, representing a 9.6 percent increase from 13 026 accidents reported in the 1st quarter. The RTAs resulted in 594 deaths and 2 783 injuries.
During the period under review, the number of vehicles registered for the first time decreased from 24 428 recorded in the 1st quarter to 15 890 while only half of the 55 136 candidates that undertook the certificate of competency were successful.
The proportions of candidates that passed the certificate of competence tests during the 2nd quarter were less than 50 percent in all provinces except Harare and Mashonaland East, which recorded 55.9 percent and 59.3 percent respectively.
Kureva said all airports across the country recorded increases in the number of flights (excluding military flights) during the 2nd quarter this year compared to the 1st quarter, with the Robert Mugabe International Airport recording 6 717 flights, an increase of 18.7 percent from 5 659 flights in the 1st quarter.
“Resultantly, the total number of air passengers recorded in 2nd quarter 2024 for all airports combined, increased by 9.3 percent when compared to 1st quarter 2024,” he said.
“During the period under review, international flights continuously increased (month-on-month) from 2 632 in April 2024 to 2 827 in June 2024. There was a decline in the number of domestic flights between May (2 857) and June (2 669).
“When comparing 2nd quarter 2024 (2 301 tons) to 1st quarter 2024 (1 144 tons), outbound freight increased by 101.1 percent. Inbound freight decreased by 10.8 percent from 2 015 tons to 1 798 tons when comparing the two periods.”
Kureva said the volume of goods transported through rail was 449 040 net tons, reflecting a 44.5 percent increase from 310 702 net tons recorded in 1st quarter 2024.
New Ziana