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Charles and Olivia Charamba . . . Two of TSCZ’s Traffic Safety Ambassadors

Gerald Maguranyanga Traffic Friday
I believe not many of us, if any at all, were ever worshipping fans of the hellish, practically unimportant and now-defunct Traffic Safety Board of Zimbabwe.
So unfashionable were they so that they operated from some dusty, ill-lit and completely unattractive dungeon, directly across the road from a seedy and equally pedestrian building in the Avenues area. Well, those were the only TSBZ offices I knew. The then Traffic Safety Board was so hushed, so castrated, it was inconsequential to the clear-and-present need to curtail the barbaric driving, and subsequent rising butchery on Zimbabwean roads.

In fact, in spite of a clear, State-sanctioned mandate to lead traffic safety matters, this apparently dispassionate organisation largely bore little or no effect to its mission.

Though much remains undone, the succeeding Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (I think that five words for one entity is a mouthful; a catchy, one or two-word name, like South Africa’s Arrive Alive, in my modest opinion, is more marketable and easier on the tongue) has been extra-refreshing and a noticeably more resolute body.

This is not only because they are now operating from a more modern, appropriate and dignified building right in the CBD, but also because in many respects, they have upped the ante. The TSCZ is often in the news for the right reasons. They sponsor an educative, weekly road safety column in the country’s most-widely distributed paper, The Herald. They regularly initiate stimulating, themed nationwide activities, promoting road safety. Best of all, the TSCZ have ingeniously initiated the recently held inaugural Road Safety Journalistic Awards.

Officially, the overall aim of the Road Safety Journalistic Awards is to “enhance an in-depth appreciation of the critical role of the media in taming the traffic jungle in Zimbabwe, and contribute towards the continuous reduction of deaths, injuries and loss of property due to road traffic accidents and to:

Reward excellence in road safety reporting;
To inculcate continuous, objective, responsible, diligent and investigative reporting on road safety issues;
To raise public awareness on road safety issues through mass media campaigns and reports;
To create a platform to enlighten Zimbabweans about the burden of road carnage, etc.”

I am not a dispiriting wet blanket, but for an event of such prominence, the organisers had conspicuous shortcomings though. With glorified sponsors such as colossal banker CBZ, Lafarge Zimbabwe, Credsure, Mimosa, Doves, Toyota Zimbabwe, Sakunda, etc, it becomes imperative to show more class. For example, expectantly walking in for a 6:00pm start, I was staggered to see final table arrangement activity. Twice I was shifted for sitting at the “wrong” table. The dress of some guests was disastrous.

A dishevelled T-shirt on such a grand evening is intolerable as it cheapens the function, especially when the guest of honour and her entourage are in splendid, appropriate dress. The worst of several mishaps on the night, I suppose, was the event running more than an hour behind schedule.

That forced the organisers to scrap certain performances from the schedule. Relegating dinner to the tail-end of the delayed function was unsociable and unpalatable for some guests.

The guest list was fronted by the youthful and good-looking Honourable Petronella Kagonye, the Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, and the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Munesu Munodawafa – that man with a creepy similarity in demeanour and looks to star musician Charles Charamba. The latter and his wife, Olivia, were invited guests as “traffic safety ambassadors”, together with local football luminary David Mandigora.

Because you cannot do anything traffic safety without the police, it was fantastic that a “high-powered” cop delegation was present, led by Senior Assistant Commissioner Mujanga, Officer-In-Charge, National Traffic, resplendent in a colour-co-ordinated red-and-black outfit.

Traffic Safety Council’s Managing Director Mr Obio Chinyere delivered an endearing short speech, highlighting that; “… the media has a critical role to play in taming the traffic jungle not only in Zimbabwe but the world over. Research has shown that mass media road safety campaigns are of paramount importance in cascading road safety information and education. Therefore, these awards are an instrument of motivation and incentive for the development and integration of passionate and natural road safety reportage by the media fraternity in Zimbabwe. We are fully aware that sometimes road safety news or information does not necessarily sell a paper . . .” Applause!
Chinyere impressed on Zimbabweans to curtail the outrageous carnage, highlighting that an astonishing 3 547 RTA deaths in 2003 was our worst year ever on record. There was a satisfactory downward trend from 2004 to 2009.

But Traffic Friday believes that may have been partly influenced by crippling fuel shortages and a worsening economic situation that influenced driving habits. Statistics also show (easy to figure out why) that Friday and Saturday nights were deadliest. Going out on a Friday night may cost you your limb – or worse – your life!

Impassioned Deputy Minister Ka- gonye highlighted the importance of the partnership of the Traffic Safety Council and stakeholders, strongly urging corporates to adopt and customise individual categories of the new awards, so they could perpetuate, from year to year. Which point invites me to suggest that the awards, sponsored by such huge business concerns, could have been more materially rewarding.

A certificate with a couple of hundred dollars is not really what I had in mind for a winner! In this day and age, you surely want to bless an upcoming journalist with the quintessential journalistic gizmo. Show me the iPad, the laptop! These are a writer’s critical work tools and it may just be fitting, next time, to ensure award winners walked away nemukono we iPad or welaptop, at least!

Some of the happy, award-winning writers on the night were…
Print Media Reporter of the Year – Faith Mhandu (Sunday Mail);
Electronic Media Reporter of the Year – Leander Kandiero (Star FM);
Overall Road Safety Reporter of the Year  – Leander Kandiero  (Star FM)
Photojournalist of the Year – Dennis Mudzamiri  (Sunday News)

P.S. I was mortified by an unpleasant, cowardly, hidden-identity caller last week, who was discontented with my strong opinions on number plate-lessness on our roads. Whilst I faithfully respect the necessity for anyone to freely express their views and criticise my public opinion column, it is dismal that there could be a whole thinking adult that robustly sees nothing wrong with a plate-less vehicle and tries to justify it!

The only misgiving I may have about last week’s article is that I did not probe the expensive purchase price of Zimbabwean plates. In an upcoming edition, after conscientious research, I am planning a comparative analysis of number plate costs in SADC.

As for whether the lack of number plates on a vehicle is supportable or not, in spite of how much an obnoxious critic bellows, in my book it’s a no-brainer!

It’s a Friday – keep the driving, happy-happy!

Gerald Maguranyanga moderates Road Safety Africa, on www.facebook.com/RoadSafetyAfrica, an interactive community page that solicits ideas to curb road traffic accidents in Zimbabwe and Africa. Contacts: WhatsApp only – +263 772 205 300; email: [email protected]