Mnangagwa Orders Crackdown On Negligent Drivers

The government has launched a nationwide crackdown on reckless driving in a bid to curb the rising loss of life due to negligence, following a tragic accident that claimed 17 lives along Seke Road on Tuesday.

In a post on his official X page on Wednesday night, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the senseless loss of lives on the country’s roads must come to an end. He said:

I extend my deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the Manyame Bridge accident.

Seventeen lives were lost in a tragedy that could have been prevented. I’ve declared it a National Disaster.

Government will cover funeral costs and medical care, and a nationwide crackdown on reckless driving is now underway. This senseless loss of life must end.

Mnangagwa called for all government institutions responsible for traffic enforcement, as well as the judiciary, to be properly aligned on road safety in order to reduce traffic accidents. He said:

Time has now come to raise the stakes against guilty parties: The costs of bad behaviour on our roads must simply outweigh whatever bizarre benefits those responsible think they derive from reckless driving.

My directive is to get all Government institutions concerned with traffic enforcement, and our Courts, to be properly aligned on this one matter so this seeming endless, yet avoidable bloody spiral on our roads is brought to an immediate end.

We cannot continue to lose lives in this most horrendous way due to sheer recklessness and persistent gaps in law enforcement on our roads.

Once worked out, these new, strong measures must be applied and enforced across the entire gamut of our institutions concerned with lawful and responsible road use, and should be enforced without fear or favour.

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