The Sunday News
Charity Chikara, Sunday News Reporter
THE Government through the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has with immediate effect banned the operations of two bus companies that were involved in a fatal accident on Tuesday in Mutoko District along the Harare- Nyamapanda Highway.
The buses have been trending on social media over the past few days after they appear to be racing, which later resulted in one of them being involved in an accident that resulted in the death of a conductor.
The two companies; Rimbi Travel and Tours and Tashllyt Investments trading as Zebra Kiss, have been banned from operating on all their routes with immediate effect.
This was revealed by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Felix Mhona in a statement released on Thursday.
“The Ministry and the Zimbabwe Republic Police, the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ), and emergency health services has established the component of human error, prohibited by section 51, 52, and 53 of the Road Traffic Act [Chapter 13:11] as the principal cause of the accident.
“The sections prohibit driving without due care and attention or reasonable consideration for others, negligent or dangerous driving, and reckless driving respectively, which violate breach of the terms and conditions of the two operators’ licenses issued for them to operate in Zimbabwe,” said Minister Mhona.
The Minister said the ban on the two operators was with immediate effect.
“The operators were given a reasonable opportunity to make presentations on the matter in terms of Section 17 (1) (b) (i) of the same Act and suspended the licenses of Rimbi Travel and Tours and Tashllyt Investments trading as Zebra Kiss from operating all its omnibuses in all routes as authorized by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development. This suspension is with immediate effect.
“In view of the incessant road fatalities being recorded on our roads, I have taken a bold stance to reduce road carnage as the Minister responsible for administering laws and regulations on road traffic and safety management. This is in line with targets contained in the National Development Strategy (NDS) 1 (2021-2025) which seeks to reduce road accidents and fatalities by a 25 percent margin per annum,” he said.
The Minister further noted that going forward, the Government shall build on this example of strict enforcement of road motor transportation and safety for the safety and well-being of the country’s citizens.
“I wish to remind and warn all transport operators, associations, motorists, and members of the public that the Ministry will take stern measures provided by our laws against those who wantonly and blatantly violate road traffic rules and regulations.
“The safety and security of all commuting public cannot be taken for granted. We will not hesitate to suspend and cancel the licenses of operators who violate the terms and conditions of such licenses, traffic rules, and regulations,” reads the statement.
The Minister further urged all road traffic law enforcement agencies to be on high alert to enforce the road traffic laws and ensure that operators with suspended and canceled licenses do not ply our roads.
The fatal accident has so far claimed one life and caused serious injuries to many passengers.
