Government has warned the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) officers to desist from corrupt practices as doing so will result into instant dismissal.
The warning comes in the wake of numerous complaints from motorists and members of the public on alleged corrupt practices at RTSA.
Ministry of Transport, Works, Supply and Communication Permanent Secretary Muyenga Antanga also stressed the need for RTSA to have snap checks from midnight to 05:00 hours as most road accidents happened during that period.
“Corruption, tribalism and lack of ethics should come to an end. Government is serious about issues of corruption and people should desist from such vices.
“My visit is to make ensure that RTSA comes up with tips to send scare tactics to the motorists and should initiate a psychological impact, you need to make sure that motorists follow traffic rules,” he said when he toured RTSA offices in Lusaka yesterday.
Dr Antanga said RTSA should map out plans to come up with adequate officers who should work during the day and night to overcome accidents, which was in line with the Patriotic Front Government’s manifesto.
“My complaint is not that I am not feeling the impact of your agency. You need to coordinate with the police and Councils in coming up with techniques that will prevent accidents. The presence of RTSA vehicles on the road makes motorists respect rules on the road,” he said.
RTSA Chief Executive Officer, Zindaba Soko said the agency had set up strategies for Lusaka and had impounded so many vehicles for motorists who failed to comply with rules.
He said the organisation had come up with a lot of routes of which the Great East, Great North, the Southern part were among other roads where they carried out patrols and that their main target was to look at high risk vehicles.
And Kitwe Mayor Chileshe Bweupe has charged that the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) office in Kitwe is inefficient.
Mr. Bweupe has attributed the high number of accidents recorded in the district last year to the inefficiency of the RTSA district office.
ZANIS reports that the Kitwe mayor said in Kitwe yesterday after launching the Kitwe district tree planting exercise.
He said RTSA officers were not frequently monitoring traffic to prevent accidents.
Mr Bweupe said Kitwe district recorded 2098 accidents in 2012 which he said could have been prevented if the RTSA office in the district was efficient. He said 100 of those accidents were fatalities.
The mayor further accused RTSA head office of getting officers from Kitwe to go and mount road blocks in Lusaka leaving the Kitwe district unattended to.
He however said he has written a letter to RTSA head office to complain over the engagement of the district officers to work from Lusaka.
Meanwhile Mr Bweupe has assured residents of Kitwe and Motorists that the council will engage the Road Development Agency to patch up the pot holes on the Kitwe –Ndola Dual Carriage Way and the Kitwe –Chingola high way.
He said the pot holes that have developed on the two roads were dangerous as they could cause preventable accidents.
The country has of late recorded an increase in the number of road traffic accidents.
ZANIS
congrats mr soko my former work mate
Hey lsk times the heading is misleading. I thought it was about tribalism and corruption at RATSA but you are talking about inefficiency, wats hap?
Imwe ba RTSA, employ people on merit and not on tribal basis. see to it that speed signs are on every Zambian road. 60 km should be the maximum in residential areas like Roma or Kabulonga. But 50 km should be the maximum in places like Kawata. Make sure that anyone getting a licence has had at least 1 or 2 years of supervised driving by someone with a full licence. Anyone getting a licence should also be put on 2 years Probation Red Plate and a further 1 year Probation Green plate before they qualify to be on full licence.
Tribalism is the order of the day in PF-ruled Zambia. The talk against tribalism is mere pretence. As for ethics, forget about that in Zambia.
impounding vehicles is not the solution. you must be impounding drivers because they are the ones who break the law
TRIBALISM IS FROM THE HEAD OF THE FISH. I HOPE THE HEAD IS NOT AWARE OF YOUR UTTERANCES.
The problem cannot be solved by impounding vehicles. There are fundamental flaws in the entire system. Let’s get serious please…
rtsa is innefficient, period. Long queues, lazy staff who constantly chat with boy/girlfriends while people are waitin in lines. Why ist that kabovas seem 2 ve a preferential treatment at rtsa.
It is also befitting that even the Police officers attached to RATSA should be rotated periodically. I didn’t like what I saw, a slim policewoman at RATSA (Lumumba) fearlessly pocketting a bribe to help a member of the public jump the queue to submit some forms.