over five deaths per day – from 2017 to 2019
…..take off importation of vehicles that are not up to standard that end up costing lives
By Tendai Marufu
THE death toll prompted by Zimbabwe’s bad roads is claiming 2 000 lives annually ,a landmark Road Safety Performance Review Report for Zimbabwe launched by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has revealed.
The review, conducted in partnership with United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety and the Zimbabwe government, is aimed at reducing the number of road accident deaths and injuries in the country.
“Road traffic crash deaths in Zimbabwe rose by about 34% between 2011 and 2019. Fatalities rose from 1 836 in 2016 to an average of 2 000 deaths per year – over five deaths per day – from 2017 to 2019,” the report said.
Launching the documents this week ,the Executive Secretary of the UNECA, Vera Songwe, said the cost of road crashes is heavy on the African economies, especially at this time when the continent is struggling to relaunch its economy amidst the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis.
“Anything that takes away from Africa’s GDP growth becomes important because we need every bit of it to be able to move forward better. The request by the Zimbabwe authority to review their road transport and safety is encouraging given the dire road safety situation in the country but also the economic context that is very difficult,” Songwe said
The ECA executive secretary also noted that there is an increase in the importation of second-hand vehicles in Zimbabwe and other African countries.
“As a continent we need to take off importation of vehicles that are not up to standard that end up costing lives and are detrimental to economic development,” she said.
Songwe commended Jean Todt, United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety for commissioning the report in collaboration with ECA and ensuring its successful completion. She also lauded the government of Zimbabwe for seeing the need to conduct the road safety performance review, which shows the Government’s commitment to prioritizing road safety as a Sustainable Development issue. Vera Songwe urged more countries to recognize its importance to their growth and development.
Zimbabwe is the fourth African country after Cameroon, Ethiopia and Uganda to launch a road safety performance review report.
The purpose of the Road Safety Performance Review Report for Zimbabwe was to determine progress made in implementing the first United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011–2020 with the objective of stabilizing the rate of road crash fatalities and reduce them by 50% by 2020. It also makes recommendations to the Government to strengthen road safety management for the Second Decade of Action, 2021–2030.
