SPEECH BY THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS, HON. FRANK TAYALI, MP ON THE OCASSION OF THE WORLD DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR ROAD TRAFFIC VICTIMS READ ON HIS BEHALF BY ACTING PERMANENT SECRETARY Mr. STEPHEN MBEWE.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
It is with great honour and privilege that I stand here this afternoon to address various stakeholders and the general public that have come to join us in commemorating the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.
The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is a global event designed to remember our brothers and sisters who were injured or lost their lives as a result of road traffic crashes.
It must be underscored as we commemorate this important day that road traffic victims are not simply road traffic crash statistics, they are family, friends and colleagues whose lives were cut short because of preventable road traffic crashes.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
This year, as we are celebrating this Special Remembrance Day, we stand with those who have lost loved ones over the years.
I am, therefore, grateful to all of you for sparing your precious time to come and participate in this memorial service, as a way of remembering these individuals who would not have been deprived of their lives if we had acted differently.
The theme for this year’s memorial programme comes with an action spurring clarion call “Remember, Support, Act” under the theme ‘Justice’.
The World Day of Remembrance for road traffic victims puts the spotlight on ‘JUSTICE.’ This calls for our judiciary system to take their place in this fight. This also calls for the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) to strengthen capacity in accident investigation after a crash.
This will help the Agency gather information on whether a crime was committed and prevent recurrence. Criminal prosecution where appropriate and civil compensation are all part of the justice system.
This is what road crash victims who have been injured or had a family member killed as a result of someone breaking the law or negligence deserve and wish for, since it also represents a main factor of prevention. This would mean that lessons are learnt from these tragedies so that they may not be repeated.
Ladies and gentlemen;
This Day calls on all of us to:
• Remember all people killed and seriously injured on the roads;
• Acknowledge the crucial work of emergency services;
• Draw attention to the generally trivial legal response to culpable road deaths and injuries and advocate for an appropriately serious response;
• Advocate for better support for road traffic victims and the victims’ families;
• Promote evidence-based actions to prevent and eventually stop further road traffic deaths and injuries.
The year 2022 has witnessed terrible accidents and we are still trying to come to terms with the loss of lives from the Nsama road traffic accident in Northern Province, the victims who perished in the fateful crash that happened at the entrance to the University of Zambia on the Great East Road and many others in various parts of the country.
As a member of the African Union, Zambia’s decision, therefore, to participate in this Africa Road Safety Day, which is also the World Day of Remembrance of Road Traffic Victims, is highly commendable because as a country we are also affected by the high number of road traffic crashes and deaths and injuries associated with these road Zambia records around 30,000 crashes every year and around 2,000 fatalities and a further 14,000 injuries annually. Therefore, drastic measures are required, not only from RTSA, but all stakeholders.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
As Government, we are pleased to note that an amendment to the Road Traffic Act no. 11 of 2002 has been effected as contained in the Road Traffic Act No.8 of 2022 in an effort to improve road safety.
For example, the introduction of the Probationary Driving Licence valid for a period of one year before a regular licence is issued. The rationale is to prevent newly licensed drivers from driving very long distances upon being licensed to drive.
During the probationary period, the driver will be expected to adhere to certain conditions that will be prescribed by my office, failure to which the probation will be extended for successive periods of three months until all the conditions are complied with.
In order to improve road user behaviour, the amendment also provides for a demerit point system that will result in automatic suspension of a driving licence where a driver exceeds a prescribed threshold of penalty points.
As Government, we believe this will yield positive results as was seen from the mandatory installation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) on intercity buses to regulate speed.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
As we commemorate the World Day of Remembrance for road accident victims, we should bear in mind that this is in fact a day dedicated to all of us who have been affected by road traffic crashes and we should also use this day as an opportunity for drawing attention to the scale of emotional and economic devastation caused by road traffic crashes.
The occasion gives us that rare opportunity to recognise the suffering of road crash victims and the work of rescue services, law enforcement and medical personnel.
Being a lead agency on road safety matters means that RTSA needs to continue developing strategies and means of enhancing road safety though road safety education, law enforcement as well as improvement of road infrastructure.
I am sure that road safety measures will not yield much if done by the Ministry of Transport and Logistics alone. Partnerships and collaborations such as the Memorandum of Understanding on Road Safety with various Ministries and stakeholders is one that should be emulated. Its effective implementation is vital as it will lead to the desired results of reducing road traffic accidents.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
In closing, allow me to remind RTSA and the Zambia Police Service to ensure that they restore sanity on our roads. As Government, we will continue working tirelessly to ensure that these law enforcement institutions rise to the challenge and continue to reverse this trend as we work with other Government Agencies and various other stakeholders.
The challenge we face today in reducing the number of fatalities on our roads is real and today’s commemoration should be a reminder of this fact.
It is time to “Remember, Support, and Act” for ‘Justice’ to save a life.
May God Bless You.