Zanu-PF legislator Knowledge Kaitano has urged Parliament to transform the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) into an agency with arresting powers, arguing that this would strengthen enforcement of road safety laws and reduce traffic accidents, particularly in the public transport sector.
Speaking on Wednesday, Kaitano highlighted what he described as “growing lawlessness” among some public transport operators, whose conduct, he said, endangers passengers, pedestrians, and other motorists.
“Human error accounts for 85 percent of road accidents in this country,” Kaitano said, citing national statistics. “This human error factor rests upon us as human beings, as humanity.”
He criticised current enforcement mechanisms, saying that while Zimbabwe has several road safety laws, implementation is often curtailed by limited resources. “The TSCZ and other law enforcement agencies need to be capacitated for this country to see sanity on roads,” he said.
Currently, Kaitano explained, the TSCZ primarily focuses on awareness campaigns and lacks enforcement powers. “It is a council that predominantly deals with awareness. It does not do enforcement. There is a need for it to be transitioned from just a council into an agency like EMA so that they can enforce,” he said.
He cited examples where the TSCZ can only warn drivers about unsafe practices, such as allowing two passengers to share the front seat in public transport vehicles. “They said they can only tell the drivers the importance of having one person seated in front and having a seatbelt. They do not have the powers to arrest. If they had powers like EMA, they could arrest or issue spot fines,” Kaitano said.
The legislator also emphasised the role of public transport operator associations in supporting road safety. “Bus and kombi operators have their respective associations which are self-regulating. They engage their members to observe traffic rules, conduct checks on buses and drivers, and some even have tracking devices,” he said.
Kaitano cited the Zimbabwe Passenger Transport Operators’ association, which uses electronic monitors on every bus departing ranks, as an example of how self-regulation could complement government enforcement. He suggested that mandatory membership in such associations could further improve compliance.