Unconfirmed reports estimate the number of those who perished in the gruesome inferno at around 20. Many of them were burnt beyond recognition. The fortunate ones escaped with injuries after leaping out of windows.
We want to grieve with those who lost loved ones, most often breadwinners engaged in cross border trade. But we want to also mourn the loss of lives in general as a nation. It is indeed a dark moment for us all.
This comes soon after a number of lives were lost to freak acts of nature through cyclone-induced flooding in some parts of the country in the current rainy season.
Only last week, six people were killed when a light aircraft flying from Mozambique crashed in the Vumba mountains in the Eastern Highlands.
It is, however, the Wednesday night accident we want to dwell on because it is a recurring nightmare on our roads.
This being the infamous Masvingo road, reflexively everyone wants to blame Government for taking too long to carry out the dualisation work. The road is one of the busiest in the country, but at the same time one of the most deadly, especially at night because it is too narrow.
In fact, some portions of the road have no shoulder for two large vehicles to bypass each other. The nightmare is compounded at night.
We believe the project has taken far too long to get off the ground.
A contract for the dualisation of the road, we understand, has been signed. There has been more talk than action. This latest tragedy should jolt everyone with a conscience that ceremonies are over. Let’s get work done on this road. It generates lots of revenue from cross border traffic.
But we cannot pass all the blame to Government. Vehicles are mere machines. Humans are a huge contributory factor in these fatal accidents. There are many which are not always fatal, but are avoidable. The resurfacing of the Bulawayo-Mutare highway has not resulted in a reduced accident rate. Often speed is to blame.
In defensive driving training they often say there is no accident which is not preventable. While debatable, the statement is largely true. A vehicle does not take itself on to a highway. More importantly, it doesn’t determine the speed at which one drives it. A vehicle is a machine driven by a human being.
Put simply, we have bad driving habits in Zimbabwe. Once people get behind the wheel, they throw caution to the wind. We see it daily with kombi drivers. Once on the road, money becomes more important than those who pay the fare. Second, vehicle owners too set onerous daily financial targets for their drivers. This sometimes explains the reckless driving witnessed on our roads. The drivers want to meet the target, and then make their own extra money before they are paid by the employer.
At times drivers are also overworked. In these days of downsizing, and belt-tightening, the fewer the workers, the better. More drivers come at a greater cost and they mean more responsibility to the employer by way of medical care, insurance and salary.
The tendency is, therefore, to stay as lean as possible. The few drivers employed are worked to a frazzle on long trips.
You can’t complain too loudly when there is a huge pool of unemployed labour waiting by the gate to replace you. Exhaustion and night driving make for a fatal concoction.
The latest tragedy perhaps should be a reminder that we need to reflect deeply about the responsibility that comes with driving. It is a task not to be taken lightly, and often takes a toll on human life. Think about the accident happening to your loved ones. It’s that bad for everyone. It’s something to reflect on as we get closer to the Easter holiday, and then Independence commemorations.