Transport and Communications Minister Hon Mutotwe Kafwaya has directed his Permanent Secretary to speed up the constitution of a committee for the implementation of the instructions given by President Edgar Lungu to remove from the roads public passenger vehicles without seat belts.
President Edgar Lungu late last month directed Hon Kafwaya to remove from the road all public service vehicles without seat belts.
President Lungu further urged the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) to ensure the law that bans people from traveling at the back of vans and trucks is enforced.
Speaking in Lusaka when he launched the Road Transport and Safety Agency Strategic Plan running from 2019 – 2021, Hon Kafwaya said President Lungu has also requested his ministry to strengthen legislation on the road traffic offenses.
“I have a very important message from His Excellency President Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu that in implementing your strategic plan, you are required to weed off the use of open vans and vehicles without seat belts on our roads as public passenger vehicles,” he said.
“I am pleased to note that RTSA has put in place a plan which will guide its performance from 2019 t0 2021.”
He made it clear that the implementation of this directive will be guided by his ministry.
The Transport and Communications Minister since assured bus owners and drivers that the government will sanitize bus stations and bus stops by ensuring that those elements that extort hard-earned money from drivers are removed permanently.
Speaking at the same event, RTSA Acting Board Chairperson Dr. Cornelius Chipoma said the agency will work with key stakeholders in the transport sector such as the Ministry of Home Affairs, Road Development Agency, National Road Fund Agency, local authorities, research institutions, insurance companies, health professionals, CSOs and local communities to ensure ongoing learning and responsive solutions for public safety.
Dr. Chipoma said this will also minimize recourse to punitive measures including fines and litigation.
“Honourable Minister, your endorsement of the new Strategic Plan will allow the Agency to immediately ramp up implementation for the next three years,” said the RTSA Acting Board Chairperson.
Why cant you give us some peace for now. We are just recovering from the harassment from the cadres.
A little bit too late now isn’t it? You are closing the gate after the horse has already bolted. This type of behaviour was instilled into your cadres a long time ago and already lost you votes come 2021. Every normal thinking person in Zambia knows that the PF are a violent lot and bullies are cowards!
Stop wasting our time with committees. Here is why: you harass those in small cars SOOO much with regards to seatbelts (your so-called traffic cops almost assaulted me when my niece was breastfeeding her baby in the backseat and I defended her action for not having a seatbelt on). Just widen that “harassment” to buses and passenger vehicles. Also, stop wasting our time with “sanitizing bus stations”. Just allow Municipality Police to take over public spaces AS DESIGNED IN BYLAWS. Mwe fisoso mwe!
As I drive around, I really wonder how some vehicles pass through police checkpoints. Some vehicles are clearly not roadworthy, while others, especially trucks are overloaded with charcoal and other merchandise with people perched on top of the load. This should stop. Someone should be monitoring the work of traffic officers at checkpoints to ensure they do not allow unworthy vehicles to pass through. Here is my suggestion: Impound all unroadworthy vehicles and only release them when the owner has fixed them and the vehicle re-tested for fitness over and above charging the owner. The city councils should also invest in vehicles mounted with cameras to track and charge people throwing litter from cars.
Well said, @Chester. That is why I am saying these politicians must stop putting politics in everything and wasting our time. They know laws are not being enforced; perhaps that is for a social science research to figure out what sort of society we have that does not even want to enforce laws. Other than that really, what we need is incremental measures on top of what we already have that is not being enforced.
Traffic officers should stop moving in vans immediately as they hunt for bribes
I don’t think there is any vehicle made in the last 30 years that has no seat belt.
Unless they mean busses, They tried passing this directive a few years ago , it did not work. You can not have seatbelts on hop on hop off busses, that would cause delays. On where in the world has mandatory seat belts worked on buses.
If you want to reduce traffic accidents , tighten driving licences for bus drivers and trucks, and tighten road worthy tests on all public transport. Increase speed camera usage on motorways where most fatal accidents happen , not in towns, you clowns.
Has lungu got any advisors ?
Even me who is not in Zambia can see solutions ,
I don’t think lungu has advisors when he wakes up from his drinking sprees
In Zambia every vehicle has seat belts unless maybe a few buses but still it only comes back to the ignorance of most passengers who chose not to tighten their seat belts.
@Spaka Don’t you think the directive passed on by His Excellency that public transports with no seat belts have to be removed from the road as they contribute to fatal accidents is not a solution?
Its funny how one minute you will say something productive then the other minute is all Negativity…
You can Do Better than this…
@ Spaka, you’re absolutely correct with your suggestions!! They should also be tough on people drink driving , making phone calls while driving and speeding. I couldn’t believe the kind of driving that I experienced the last time I was there. I was scared for my dear life!! The roads are so dangerous and congested!! So much Lungu needs to do before he can even think about seat belts, because what good is a seat belt if you are being driven by a drunk driver on a dangerous and congested road?