Harare, (New Ziana) – After a series of recent deadly road crashes, President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday directed Government agencies to take urgent action to curb the carnage, which has claimed the lives of 24 lives in a space of days.
In a statement, he described the situation as a “bloody trail” of tragedies, highlighting the most recent accident — a head-on collision between a bus and a haulage truck along the Gokwe-Kwekwe road which killed ten people on Wednesday.
“In a space of five days, our Nation has witnessed three major road traffic accidents in which 24 innocent lives have perished. The latest in this bloody trail is a head-on collision involving a bus and a haulage truck along the Gokwe-Kwekwe road, which claimed ten more people only yesterday.
“This grave turn of mishaps on our roads must exercise our collective conscience and spur Government Departments and Agencies involved in ensuring road safety to act with urgency and greater coordination so the carnage is stopped,” President Mnangagwa said.
He announced that drastic measures will be taken to address irresponsible driving and unroadworthy vehicles.
He also ordered the speedy re-establishment of road maintenance units across the country, with resources allocated to repair weather-damaged highways.
“The latest spate of accidents calls for drastic measures and lasting solutions targeting irresponsible behaviour and un-roadworthy vehicles on our roads. I am also directing the Government to speed up the re-establishment of road maintenance units across the country, and to avail adequate resources for impactful remedial work on our weather-damaged highways and roads,” he said.
President Mnangagwa extended his condolences to bereaved families and wished the injured a swift recovery, pledging government assistance to those affected.
“As I condole with, and extend Government assistance to the bereaved and affected families, I wish all those injured in the three accidents speedy recovery,” he said.
The spate of accidents has reignited debate over road safety enforcement and infrastructure maintenance in Zimbabwe, where poor road conditions and reckless driving have long been cited as contributing factors.
New Ziana
