accidents – NEWSSPACE

Concerted efforts needed to end road carnage

**Tafadzwa Goliati, PAZ National Coordinato**r

BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA

There is need for concerted efforts if we are to come up with tangible solutions to end or reduce traffic road accidents which continue to kill or maim people, Passengers Association of Zimbabwe (PAZ) National Coordinator Tafadzwa Goliati, has said.

Goliati revealed this as he said as PAZ, they applauded the Government through the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, on the recent review and implementation of the Radius Based restrictions for commuter omnibus from the current 120 kms to 60 kms. “As an organization, we are also concerned on the increasing rates of road carnages on our roads.

“We feel that concerted efforts should be carried out by all concerned stakeholders to come up with tangible solutions to reduce or totally end road carnages, which continue to kill or maim citizens of the country,” said Goliati.

He also revealed that they were in support of the initiative to enforce terms of section 3 (1) of Statutory Instrument 118 of 2023, prohibiting vehicles from operating without installation of speed limiting and monitoring devices.

“Our organization also applauds the move which we feel is part of efforts to minimise carnages.

“We also wish to highlight that we feel that there are other areas which may not be accessible due to the limitation, emphasizing the need for alternative and safe public transport systems which government in our view should promote and facilitate its implementation.

“There are some long distance routes which we feel will also be affected and effective alternative modes of transportation should be availed to travellers.

“We can also cite an example of travellers, going to areas like Sanyati and Gokwe whom we feel are likely to face transport challenges since they come from far off areas.

“They are also severely affected by the poor rural road network,” said Goliati.

He added that they are also concerned on the issues of policing and urge the responsible agencies to be on top of the situation, be well equipped and to monitor corruption.

“On some of the routes, we even see passengers precariously sitting on top of speeding kombi roofs.

“This poses danger to passengers. We have seen some of these kombis ferrying passengers on roof tops, evading roadblocks or at times being left to pass through roadblocks.

“Then as an organisation, we tend to question the seriousness of policing and law enforcement if we are to minimise road carnages.

“We have on several times seen kombis carrying touts, dangling like carrots and hanging outside moving vehicles.

“This seems to have been normalised and no law enforcement is seen to be applied, something we as PAZ feel is being allowed and is dangerous to those who engage in such behaviour.

“We also have a concern on insecure and heavy loading of passengers and goods which can affect vehicle mobility,” he added.

It however remains to be seen if the new regulations will be adhered to as some commuter omnibus operators have been left to drive with impunity, engaging in dangerous acts risking the lives of other road users.

From pain to passion; the birth of The Frame Foundation

BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA

Following a near fatal accident, one woman decided to turn her pain and traumatic experience into a passion.

She refused to let this experience kill her fighting spirit and today, she is an inspiration to other victims of trauma.

And with that same spirit of positivity, she decided to start an organised called The Frame Foundation, to help other victims of trauma.

“I started The Frame Foundation because I understand the pain and struggle of living with trauma.

“Having gone through my own traumatic experience, I know first-hand how hard it is to find support, resources and a safe space to heal.

“I felt lost and alone; like I was navigating a dark journey without a map,” said Memory Tafadzwa Maja, affectionately known as Sister Maja.

She added: “by the grace of, God I found courage to put one leg in front of the other, till I found a solid rock to stand on and found my life-and I wanted to help others do the same.

“I realized that trauma survivors often feel silenced, stigmatized, isolated and that’s when the idea struck me-to create a platform where survivors could share their stories, connect with others, and access the resources they need to heal.

“The Frame Foundation was born out of my passion to help others reframing their stories, reclaim their lives and find hope and resilience in the face of adversity.

“It’s my way of paying it forward and I’m committed to creating a safe, supportive community where survivors can thrive.”

Sister Maja further revealed that The Frame Foundation is a trauma survival foundation dedicated to empowering survivors of trauma to reclaim their lives and thrive.

She added that their mission is to provide a safe space for trauma survivors to share their stories, access resources and connect with others who understand their journey.

Their aim is to break the silence and stigma surrounding trauma, fostering a culture of resilience and hope.

“Our objectives are to create a supportive online community for trauma survivors, offer resources and tools for healing and growth, raise awareness about trauma and mental health, provide access to expert advice and support.

“Our vision is a world where trauma survivors are seen, heard, and empowered to frame their own stories and shape their own futures and our tagline is Reframe Your Story, Reclaim Your Life.”

Safe school zones needed for children

**school children using a pedestrian crossing**

BY MUNYARADZI BLESSING DOMA

Most of the road infrastructure that is near schools do not support the safety of learners, posing high risks of accidents resulting in injuries or fatalities.

Even on some of the school zones where there are clearly marked signs for the protection of children, unruly motorists have total disregard of such, further compounding the risks.

The call was made by Mcleo Mapfumo, Safe School Zones Zimbabwe-Project Manager in an interview with this reporter as he revealed the successful project they had in Glen View where children had been injured, some killed due to accidents in school zones.

“The project is all about star rating schools and measure to see how safe it is for children to walk to school, for children to cycle to school or even for children who come to school using motor vehicles.

“So what basically we are supposed to do on such a project, is first we go and assess the security situation or the safety situation around the school,” said Mapfumo.

He revealed that they had initially gone to assess Glen View 8, after a backdrop of children who had lost their lives on the same spot for the last three years.

Mapfumo further added that what exactly was causing the accidents was that the infrastructure was not supporting the kids.

“And when we did the assessment around the whole area, especially where the school is located; we found that it star rated to zero which clearly shows that it’s a high risk location.

“So we then did an assessment to see what exactly would actually work at this place, so we saw a recommendation of dealing with the street, dealing with the roads.

“And we put rumble strips, we put some humps, we put a raised pedestrian crossing point, we also put bollards.

“All this was to make sure that we introducing speed calming measures,” said Mapfumo.

He further revealed that as a policy issue, they also advocated for 30kms per hour speed limit around all schools.

This was to say any motorist approaching an area where there is a school, where there are school children crossing, who are using the roads to school, it has to be a safe school zone and all cars should drive at least 30kms per hour and below.

“We can also push as a policy that around all schools, it should be a three star or better safety standard around all schools.

“If we push for this, especially for schools that are in high density suburbs, we can actually reduce the number of deaths or the number of injuries that school children face when they are going to school.

“So this project was carried out in Glen View, this was at Glen View 8 Primary School but because of the improved infrastructure along Glen View Way and Willowvale Way, it also benefitted other five neighbouring schools.

“There is also another high school, another private college that is also benefitting from the infrastructure that was put along Willowvale Way,” he said.

Mapfumo further revealed that, “on Glen View Way we managed to achieve the objective because Glen View Way was more of a city council road and City of Harare is one of the major partners on this project.

“We managed to at least push for the 30kms per hour along Glen View Way, but along Willowvale Way, it’s more of a national road.”

He also added that they are also now trying to push and include the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development to guide them on how to push for that speed limit zone around the national roads, major roads like Willowvale Way.

“From this now, we feel that the safety situation has improved.

“We also want to introduce road safety marshals, like parents can actually volunteer to make sure that they assist in the morning, wearing reflective vests and the lollipop STOP and GO signs.

“They should be visible to make sure that they control all the traffic because of the vehicles, especially the unregistered private service vehicles or the mushikashikas which are not obeying the signs or paintings that are on the roads.

“Paintings are not enough so they have to be there to make sure that in the morning they assist the children and in the afternoon they also assist the children on a rotational basis,” said Mapfumo.

He also revealed that they had also painted a road safety mural outside Glen View 8 Primary School “to remind the community and commemorate the lives of children who have lost their lives on the roads.”

Going forward, Mapfumo revealed that they are now looking at expanding the assessment aspect of the project, aiming to assess almost all the schools in Harare.

After the assessment, they are also looking at creating locations, showing the high risk locations in Harare which must be urgently attended to.

“And we can now recommend this to relevant stakeholders, Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Republic Police, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Health and also Ministry of Education to say these are high risk locations.

“Children in these areas are at danger with road crashes and something has to be done urgently,” he added.

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