by Gideon Madzikatidze/Simbarashe Sithole
HARARE – Zimbabwe is set to introduce a Road Accident Fund to improve post-crash management and provide social safety nets for victims. The initiative, driven by Transport Minister, Honourable Advocate Felix Mhona, aims to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by at least half by 2030.
Speaking during a consultative meeting on the Road Accident Fund Bill exercise in Harare this Friday, Mhona said the exercise coincides with a momentous period, when President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration has emboldened its resolve to formulate robust policy, legal and administrative mechanisms to transform the post-crash management and road traffic safety management regimes of the country.
“Occasions of his nature provide us with a wonderful opportunity to share experiences and hear directly from the constituencies which matter, the real stakeholders of road safety including members of the public. We have also committed ourselves to fully engaging all those who are in the ecosystem of road safety management and regulation in general, and post-crash management in particular,” Mhona said.
“Accidents have become a national scourge and one of the major killers of our people. It is no longer business as usual,” Mhona added.
“In that vein, our programming, our planning and policy, and legislative interventions should be decisive, prompt and effective,” said Mhona.
Zimbabwe’s current road traffic accident statistics indicate that a significant number of lives are lost as a result of road accidents on a regular basis. This state of affairs is compounded by increasing vehicle population, causing further strain on road infrastructure, leading to increased crashes and fatalities.
Meanwhile, Harare Mayor, Jacob Mafume applauded the progress and potential that the bill would bring towards restoring urban sanity if passed into law.
“If passed into law, this bill will bring sanity to discord that we are fighting daily which has caused various accidents. Our role as local government therefore is to co-operate with central government, to work closely together despite our diverse backgrounds,” Mhona said.
“We are there for convergence of our ideas in working together, not for divergence. Surely with the pace of road Infrastructural Development that the city and country at large are witnessing (and that which we will be witnessing), we have assurance that Harare will no longer maintain a refugee camp status, but be fully transformed into a world class city,” Mafume added.
The proposed fund will be sourced from a 35% allocation of the compulsory third-party motor vehicle insurance, currently at US$ 35.65. This will complement existing funding sources, including fuel levies, tobacco and alcohol products, vehicle importation, and traffic offences.
Key benefits of the fund include evacuation costs from accident scenes, medical expenses, funeral expenses and other related claims.
Mayor Mafume emphasised the importance of collaboration between local and central government to achieve road safety goals.
The Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe will play a crucial role in enforcing road safety regulations and promoting awareness.