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Freeman Razemba-Senior Reporter

Law enforcement agencies will be heavily deployed at all the bus terminuses and ranks and along the country’s major highways in a bid to curb road carnage during the festive season.

The move is aimed at ensuring that before the bus leaves the terminus, law enforcement agencies would want to make sure that the vehicle is safe and that the driver has all the paperwork to be on the roads.

This development also comes after Zimbabwe and South Africa launched a joint operation to curb road traffic accidents and the movement of dangerous goods between the two countries.

Government officials from the two countries met on Thursday in the neighbouring country to come up with solutions to curtail the effects of road traffic accidents and the movement of dangerous goods.

There has been an increase in fatal road accidents involving cross-border buses and haulage trucks in South Africa, prompting officials from the neighbouring country to meet with their Zimbabwean counterparts.

Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) managing director Mr Munesu Munodawafa said they will also be conducting awareness campaigns along the highways and border posts.

In addition to a state of preparedness in the event of an accident, he said they also had a joint enforcement taking place.

“So for next week, we will have teams from VID, Zimbabwe and RMT working with their counterparts here, together with the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe, working with their South African counterparts to come up with, let’s say, a dry run of what is likely to be happening around the festive season.

“So it’s a rehearsal, but at the same time it’s practical and it’s meant to improve the efficiency in terms of movement of people,  in terms of road safety, but also terms of response in the unlikely event that there is an accident,” he said.

Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Felix Mhona is also expected to launch the festive season campaign within the next two weeks ahead of the festive season.

“And I am aware from a planning point of view, we will have more than 40 teams that will be on the ground.

“That is, teams will be comprised of ourselves as Traffic Safety Council, but working with the enforcement agencies, that is ZRP, VID and RMT.

“While we will be dealing with the education side of things, there will be actual enforcement this time around on the roads. And we will be checking for the vehicle itself, the road fitness,” he said.

The TSCZ boss said they will be checking on all the paperwork related to the driver, especially for public service vehicles.

“And I want to appeal the advance for bus operators particularly, to get them checked, serviced and ready and have all the papers, because there will be a massive blitz,” Mr Munodawafa said.

“This time around also, we are doing part of the blitz within the main bus terminal. In other words, at Mbare, in Bulawayo, in Gweru, before the bus leaves the terminal, we want to make sure that the vehicle is safe and that the driver has all the paperwork. That way, we minimise the inconvenience that at times happens when a bus gets to a roadblock, perhaps it’s not fit.”

He said if the bus was found not to be fit to be on the road, it will be impounded.