The Sunday News
Thobekisiwe Gumede Sunday Leisure Reporter
BULAWAYO artistes Majahawodwa Ndlovu aka Jeys Marabini in the showbiz industry and Sandra Ndebele have urged motorists to exercise extreme caution on the country’s roads to avoid the “traditional” bloodbath ahead of the Easter holiday.The message is in line with their ambassadorial status that was bestowed on them by the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe.
In an interview with Sunday Leisure, Jeys Marabini encouraged drivers and all road users to be cautious in order to limit the number of people that are lost to road accidents.
“People should follow road rules all the time so that lives are saved. As traffic ambassadors we are trying everything within our means to make sure that the word spreads out there. Posters are going to be put all around the city to make sure that people receive the message,” he said.
The Umuzikababa hit-maker said what was ironic about Zimbabwe was that it had lesser traffic compared to other African countries yet traffic accidents continue to soar.
“We have constantly recorded more road accidents in the country compared to our neighboring countries which have more traffic. We should make sure that we are more careful on the roads,” he said.
Ndebele, however, noted that passengers have a role to play in saving other people’s lives as commuter omnibuses have a tendency of overloading. She said such actions usually lead to accidents occurring and urged people not to board such kind of transport.
“My advice is that passengers should avoid boarding overloaded commuters omnibuses because they have a high accident rate. If drivers speed passengers should complain to avoid unnecessary loss of life,” she said.
The two renowned artistes were appointed traffic safety ambassadors for the Southern Region alongside football legends Peter Ndlovu and Rahman Gumbo.
The two artistes released two songs early this year on traffic caution where Ndebele did a song called Qaphela (Beware) before teaming up with Afro-jazz star Marabini on the track Tshayelani Kahle.
Videos for the songs are being distributed for free by the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe in a bid to stem increased carnage on the roads.
Ndebele is set to do a collaboration on traffic safety sometime in August with gospel songstress Mai Charamba who is also a traffic safety ambassador for the Northern Region together with her husband Pastor Charles Charamba and football stars George Shaya and David Mandigora.
