Central Province Permanent Secretary Denny Lumbama has expressed sadness at the loss of lives on the Kabwe-Kapiri road in an accident that happened last night.
Mr Lumbama in an interview with ZANIS today said that the accident was a great tragedy which could have been avoided.
He cautioned people to avoid traveling at night especially with the onset of rains to avoid being caught up in accidents.
Mr. Lumbama said traveling at night in the rain season was dangerous as it was not easy for anyone to see clearly in the rains.
He also cautioned trackers to be cautious of road traffic rules by avoiding packing on dark spots and by ensuring clear signs on the road in case of packing for other road users to see clearly and avoid accidents of the nature.
Mr. Lumbama further said road safety should be everyone’s responsibility if accidents are to be reduced on roads.
23 people among them two babies perished in a road traffic accident on the Kapiri-Kabwe road that involved a canter truck and a Petrotech-fuel tanker.
And Passengers, Pedestrian and Cyclists Association of Zambia (PAPECA) have also expressed sadness over the death of the 23 passengers.
PAPECA president Lawrence Kaoma says it is regrettable that the nation had to lose so many people when the situation would have been avoided.
Mr. Kaoma said the use of open trucks as public transport was the cause of such accidents as they were mostly overcrowded and therefore urged the public to shun using open trucks for transport.
He has also called on the police command to ban the use of open trucks as public transport if the nation was to preserve the lives of people.
The PAPECA president was speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka today.
[ ZANIS ]
Sorry indeed that such a serious thing happened…killing so many people