By Kimena Nuhu
At national level every one believed the day had started
very well on Wednesday but before mid day things changed for the worse - a road
accident killed over 40 people. Reports that continued to trickle in
showed until Thursday evening the death toll had risen to 50 people. As it
was reported in the media the grisly accident occurred at Changarawe area in
Mufindi District, Iringa Region minutes before 10 am, involving a passenger bus
christened Majinja and a lorry. May God rest the souls of those who died in
eternal peace.
Though the right to life
is guaranteed under Article 14 of the country’s Constitution,
this right to life continues to be denied through a number
of factors, one of the more prominent causes is that concerning road accidents.
Various studies and reports compiled
by Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) in collaborations with traffic police
show that human error is the major factor of road accidents in the country
supported by factors such as speeding, negligent drivers, driving while
drunk, using cell phones while driving, failure to respect and obey
traffic regulation, as well as corrupt traffic police.
As for the accident that occurred on
Wednesday at Changarawe area in Mufindi district another factor stands out very
prominently - portholes on the road which can generally be termed as bad road
or poor infrastructure.Singling out this accident, one may not mince words if
one apportions blame to Tanzania National Roads Agency (Tanroads) - Iringa
regional office - for its failure to meet its obligations.
For those who listened attentively
to the eye witnesses of the accident, including injured passengers themselves
might have heard loud and clear that the cause of the tragic incident was the
potholes along the stretch in the area that were left unattended to for months.
Though speeding is also cited as the
factor that contributed to the accident, we believe the tragic incident may not
have happened had the lorry driver not shifted to the opposite lane to avoid
hitting the potholes in his rightful side. Very unfortunately no government
leader stood up to speak about this Tanroads’ negligence.
Dar es Salaam-Zambia Road is a
strategic highway that deserves high attention by the government. There is
no doubt that the road was strategically built to tape economic potentials
through transportation of cargo to the landlocked countries in the southern
Africa. Now, leaving huge potholes on such a highway unattended to even for a
week is completely absurd.
By saying this we don’t mean that
other roads should not be given special attention, rather the point we are
making here is that Tanroads should play its role effectively, otherwise its
existence will be meaningless and people may give it a bad name.
This accident may be an eye opener
with regard to how Tanroads operates. Maybe one may ask: How often does
Tanroads through its regional offices conduct routine inspections on major
highways? How long does it take to rectify a problem on particular stretch if
noted? How long does it take to fill up a porthole on a road?
As far as this accident is concerned
Tanraods cannot escape blame. Souls of our brothers and sisters have perished
for sheer negligence. This is unacceptable.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
