Thursday, March 28, 2024

RTSA Should Stick to Road Safety

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THE Zambia Roads & Highway Safety Group (ZRHSG) is urging the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) to stick to their mandate and prioritise road safety and public awareness instead of revenue collection.

The Zambia Roads & Highway Safety Group was shocked to read a statement quoting the Acting RTSA boss Gladwell Banda that said RTSA had collected over K986 million in the period January to October 2019 and was pledging to be the lead agency in the collection of non-tax revenue.

“The core functions of RTSA as stipulated in the Road Traffic Act part 4 does not say RTSA should be a lead revenue collection agency of the Government. The Act stipulates that RTSA should implement policy on road transport, traffic management and road safety. The Act also states that RTSA should conduct road safety education, coordinate road safety programmes and approve road safety programmes undertaken outside RTSA activities,” says Group Admin Mthoniswa Banda.

The Zambia Road & Highway Safety Group also notes that RTSA even collected more money than the Zambia National Road Fund Agency (NRFA) which has over 21 toll gates across the country but only collected K800 million.

“The Zambian motorist is heavily taxed as a tax payer and is subjected to many payments and taxes just to have his /her vehicle on the road. Once the vehicle is on the road there are faced with many road blocks, check points, speed cameras and toll gates all designed to make money out of the traveling motorist,” says Group Admin Mr. Mthoniswa Banda.

Zambia Roads & Highway Safety Group feels It’s immoral for RTSA to even set targets of revenue collection while setting traps for motorists. RTSA should concentrate on implementing best road user practice other than aiming to raise income.

The Zambia Roads & Highway Safety Group is confident that once RTSA embarks on road safety public awareness and educates erring motorists on safety and best ways to observe traffic rules, there will be less accidents and less fines to motorist that are greatly reducing their pleasure to drive on the Zambian roads.

“Our hope is that driving on the Zambian roads will return to be the safest pleasure that it was and that RTSA officers will help traffic to smoothly flow from one point of the country to another without hustles,” says Mthoniswa Banda.

10 COMMENTS

  1. You should go further please let the revenue be collected by ZRA not RATSA and especially Z.P traffic sections. Zp traffic sections specifically kitwe central are serving their pockets. How can a crime reduced from k300, to k100. I was a victim on Saturday 30th November 2019, I paid without a receipt.

  2. Comment:correct instead of educating motorists they are even proud of having collected tax and even announcements of the offenders they have taken to court. off side ba rtsa.

  3. You were dancing dunnun reverse and expecting money in your pockets………

    You will be dancing pelepete by the time lungu is finished with you.

  4. RTSA must be disbanded. The only institution recognized for law enforcement in the Constitution is the Zambia Police. Motor Vehicle Licensing must revert to local authorities. RTSA isn’t present everywhere but Local Authorities are. The Department of Road Transport must resume driver testing and motor vehicle examinations services. RTSA is a big parasite, every Jack wants to suck from motorists. Besides RTSA has failed, their services are pathetic. Their system is often down, we spend days just trying to get their services. Queues are endless, in the meantime employees are building and driving SUVs and slaughtering women. This isn’t what Grey Zulu wanted to see Zambia become when he threw stones at the colonialists.

  5. Banda from Zambia Roads & Highway Safety Group (ZRHSG), let it sink in you that the number one priority of any government agency is to make money for the government. If you want safety take care of yourself otherwise RTSA will not, will never do it for you and they cannot even implement 20% of their original mandate….

  6. RATSA is more interested in collecting money than safety. They are even proud to state how much more money they collected this year as opposed to last year. What that means is they failed to educate the public on the need to drive safely leading to more people committing offenses leading to higher revenue. They should instead be more proud to announce that this year the revenue collected was only half of last year. This would mean less traffic offences and that equally means they were doing their job.

  7. …….RATSA has been reduced to the level of corrupt zambia police traffic officers in the short time since Gladwell Banda has been acting RATSA boss. Yes we pay for various services and fines by RATSA but it is immoral for Banda to boast it as revenue, he must be a PF cadre like all SoE bosses are. Now Zesco must be feeling outdone by RATSA.

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