Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) president Obert Masaraure has criticised the government’s handling of emergencies, following a horrific road traffic accident along Seke Road at Hunyani Bridge on Tuesday, 22 July, which claimed 17 lives.
Masaraure said the State is quick to quash peaceful protests while failing to show similar urgency when citizens’ lives are at stake. He said:
The State is so efficient when blocking peaceful protests but is found extremely inefficient when desperate citizens are crying for help trapped under a truck.
The same State that is quick to deploy armored water cannon trucks to torment protestors is found wanting when Citizens call for Rotator Tow Trucks, (Wreckers) to rescue trapped people.
The accident, which involved a South Africa-registered 30-tonne haulage truck and a Nissan Caravan commuter omnibus with 17 passengers on board, has become one of the deadliest in recent memory.
According to police, the driver lost control and the truck veered into the oncoming lane, hitting two pedestrians, and then collided head-on with the kombi before overturning and crushing it.
Masaraure said the government’s slow and inadequate response to the disaster was symptomatic of a state that prioritises repression over service. He said:
We have seen unrivaled efficiency when State bulldozes through beautiful homes built by hard working families.
When families beg for such efficiency to save lives, they realise the State is an anti people hierarchy.
Particularly the Zimbabwean State is only good at manufacturing suffering for our people.
His remarks come amid growing public outrage over the authorities’ delayed response, particularly the failure to deploy cranes swiftly enough to rescue victims trapped beneath the truck’s trailer, an intervention that could have saved lives.
Chitungwiza Mayor Rosaria Mangoma has since appealed to the government to declare the tragedy a national disaster, which would allow mobilisation of more resources to support the affected families.
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