Millennium radio reports that, Labour minister Joyce Nonde Simukoko said the ministry will engage the bus operators and other relevant stakeholders to address the issue of long working hours.
Ms. Simukoko further advised the operator to abide to stipulated laws that allow drivers to drive for only four hours.
She said any operator or employer going against this regulation will face the law.
Zambia Road Safety Trust (ZRST) has attributed the high number of road accident to fatigue among drivers who are subjected to long distance travelling.
The Minister’s concerns comes in the wake of the recent accident of Mazhundu Bus which claimed 10 lives.
Some unconfirmed reports indicate that the driver of the bus was fatigued as he had driven more hours than the stipulated hours by the Road Transport and Safety Agency.
But mu Zambia, driving just 4 hours a day and thats it?
So to get to Mansa Luapula province need 3 drivers or 3 days for a driver.
Doesn’t Nonde learn how difficult it is to prove any hearsay? As long as overtime is paid in accordance with working conditions, she has no legs to stand on. There are no peculiar legal working hours for drivers.
Why are you calling them for a meeting?
“For what for”
All you need is lok at the company track record and issue punitive measures. Here there are three serious issues :
1. Over speeding – solution control the speed limit for PSVs by law.
2. Buses without fitness -Suspend operating license gor endangering lives.
3. Over worked drivers- introduce digital tachograph to monitor drivers.
Stop talking start acting how many times will you call bus operators?
Is this not the same minister who went to talk to workers at a restaurant and told us otherwise?
This country has really gone to the Dogs… surely is this what a country must be spending time on this century and time? How buses must be driven? The best decision of my life was to leave Zambia in the 90’s.
The best solution is for the British to colonize Zambia again.
Let revert to walking in Zambia. Clearly you’all cant handle civilization!
So all this is based on some unconfirmed reports, and not on an official report by the relevant authorities? What a joke. Road traffic regulation should be strictly enforced. That’s the only way to control drivers, companies etc. If a company breaks some road rules, they should be penalized (fined) heavily. And if it involves loss of life, the relatives of the dead victims should sue the company, especially if negligence is proven on the part of the company or the driver. The main difference between developed countries and developing countries like Zambia is that developed countries have lots of rules — and these rules are strictly enforced. In Zambia, rules are set up, but they lack enforcement. When rules are not enforced, they’re good for nothing, and it’s just the same as having…
(Continued)… no rules. Learn to enforce the rules, you PF leaders. There should be no sacred cows. It should be automatic that if anyone breaks the law they should face the consequences, regardless of who they are, or what position they hold in government. That’s how you control people’s behavior in the country. And if you don’t enforce the law, innocent people die — all because you’re not doing your job. Do your jobs. Enforce the law! Send some culprits to prison and others will learn from that and begin to obey the laws.
Until professional bodies are formed for the likes of bus drivers, taxi drivers people will continue to die like flies.
Professional bodies for drivers will provide training and other profession enhancements with ID cards carrying all courses attended and other important info.
Insurance companies and bus operatores can fund such bodies.
But you see this requires hard work and there are no bribes to be had so PF ministers can’t attempt this.
If the bus operators are not abiding to stipulated laws that allow drivers to drive for only four hours, why not let the law take its course as opposed to ‘engaging them’ and other relevant stakeholders to address the issue of long working hours?
Instead of wasting tax payers money on meaningless meetings let them just face the law as you have said.
Good luck with that one.
Useless inept Nonde, will end up getting a few envelops, then ask Police to arrest the whistle blowers.
NONDE IS TYPICAL OF THE WHAT’S WRONG WITH ZAMBIA TODAY, WHICH IS RUN BY NON QUALIFIED LOUDMOUTH CADRES, WHOS SOLE ROLE IS TO SING HIS MASTERS (CHAKOLWA’S) VOICE.
Summon them based on what? You have no laws stipulating how many hours a driver should work…just silly empty tins!!
Did it have to take the loss of lives for our friends to realize there is a problem? Always Reactive!
Requiring public service drivers to work a maximum of 4 hours in a day will just promote laziness. If a driver starts work at 06:00 hours, he should knock off by 10:00 hours. A bus travelling to Nakonde takes about 12to 14hours, meaning that it should have 3 drivers. Such requirements will just increase the cost and bring more problems in the industry. I personally think 7 hours should be fine.
Flipflop, you banned buses and trucks from moving at night and now you want to call owners in order to address long working hours? If you are travelling from Nakonde to Kabwe how many hours do you think people drive? 4 hour? More than 12 hour driving continuously, you must be joking, carry out thorough investigations and get to the root cause not jumping on the bandwagon just to look relevant. This minister at the rate which she is going, will be the worst minister of labor to ever grace that ministry. Her back ground does not seem to give her any impetus to deal with labor issues the way she used to fight the government. Wake up from slumber and smell the coffee madam.
This woman is a typical dull pf chimbwi. How are they going to enforce that? because any aggrieved driver can just make up accusations or non of them will come up to lodge complaints against their bosses especially with the poverty pertaining under pf. What this rock brain of a woman needs to do is look into implementing a system where public vehicles have mandatory systems where drivers have to stop after driving for particular amount of time e.g stop every 2hours or so. Only way to enforce this is to make it mandatory for all public transport companies to have these systems in place. That way the burden is even removed on the ministry and they can enforce this themselves. Because what we will find out is that these drivers decide by themselves not to rest. Wake up
The government is supposed to have a mechanisn in place to detect some of such problems. It just shows this cougar does not have what in takes to hold office because if I recall she is the one who went to that racist restaurant to ask staff if there was racism and of course in the presence of the proprietor they said no and she concluded there is no racism and the whistle blowers should be prosectured. Even here you will see what she will do, the same process, same results and no action. If this is now she acts even in bed to be so predictable I do not envy Mr Simukoko, no wonder he has never been able to “knock her up”, she is sterile beyond belief, only the holy spirit can score there, kwamana sure!
The only issue which need to be looked into is the History of Haiger buses which has claimed many souls since they were first introduced in Zambia. History has it that some Vehicles are not mean’t for the African Terrain, take for instance the time DCM Buses which also claimed many souls the time they were introduced in Zambia. Our able Minister of Labour should look and the History performance of Haiger buses in comparison with the Marcopolo buses. It will be found that the former has claimed many lives within the shortest time which they have been put on our roads.
Take for instance in India, which happens to be a subcontinent the drivers drive buses and trucks longer distances with less accidents recorded. The question of fatigue shouldn’t be put into consideration as the longest…
Zambia is being run by dull people. The minister hears from the street that some bus companies overwork their drivers, and she decides to call those companies to a meeting. So, they will come and tell the minister, no those are just stories, show us proof or evidence that we overwork our drivers! And the minister will be speechless. End of meeting!!! Dull ministers! The other minister wants to legalize street vending!!! Who are these people really???
Unfortunately these are the “Pufferfish” Zambians have chosen to put in office & rule over them.
Never ever seen a nation that lacks foresight like Zambia, where they choose Dull Non-Productive Stonethrowers to govern over them!
Next we are going to hear that the government is proposing that each bus is driven for so many kilometres per day. The best way forward is to ensure that every bus is roadworthy and all drivers to be extra careful on the roads.
It really is shocking on how incompetent and directionless this crop of leaders we currently have under this vision-less government.Zambians,wake-up before we all perish in this country.
Government or RSTA in normal circumstance how many hours does it take to reach Mpulungu from Lusaka?
Nonde just sit down. We know you will not do anything. Remember Horseshoe?
iS THIS THE JOB FOR A LABOUR MINISTER???? PLEASE YOU WANT TO PROVE RELEVANT TO ECL? FIND SOMETHING ELSE
Guys we have failed. Both the ruling and opposition parties will take us no where, yes you heard me right. They are taking us nowhere. Recolonisation, the best option out of our situation. Sounds funny, sounds impractical but the best way out
This just reveals that expertise is a must for each and very sector so long there are people engaged to perform duties! There is no lesser sector not to require experts, for example everyone can cook something but it requires an expert to refine cooking! Who in Zambia for instance has conducted a study to determine what effects bad roads, devoid of regular servicing vehicles, driver fatigue etcetera, to help find a solution to road carnage?
4 hours only, thsts two drivers to get from Ndola to lusaka. Wow….. if 4 hours its possible that companies will encourage drivers get zs many kilometres as possible in those 4 hours…..leading to speeding and dangerous shortcuts in driving.. how can a country and company expect someone to work for only 4 hrs a day uneconomical and impractical
Dullness. The minister has no clue and depends on hearsay. Driving night time was blamed for the cause of many accidents. Dull people cannot configure why many accidents are happening in Zambia except by guessing or hearsay or both. It is either one is dull or pretending that he/she does not know why many accident are caused.
Incompetent woman!