01 Nov 2015

The Minister of Transport and Communications, Mr Tshenolo Mabeo, says each life lost in road accidents impacts on Batswana’s lives because of the country’s small population.

Giving a keynote address at the National Road Safety Symposium in Gaborone recently, the minister stated that Botswana had a high prevalence of road accidents and fatalities in the SADC region having recorded 16 000 accidents in 2014.

Mr Mabeo stated that careless drivers were  the main cause of road accidents, adding that some caused accidents under the influence of drugs. The minister highlighted that from January to date, over 300 lives had been lost, which was a 20 per cent increase from last year during the same period.

“The road accidents statistics are worrying because we are approaching the festive season which is usually marred by road accidents and I implore the public to drive safely.” He commended the private sector for leading the road safety initiative that he said cemented government and private sector partnership.

He further noted that a total of 1.3 million people died worldwide as a result of road accident however stating that unless drastic measures and concerted efforts are put in place the numbers will keep rising. Mr Mabeo said road accidents are the leading cause of death for youth worldwide and further cripple economies.

The minister said prevention of accidents was key adding that he hoped that a lot of positives would arise from the symposium. Debswana managing director, Mr Balisi Bonyongo, said accidents were an issue of major concern in Botswana a sit robs key members in the society killing youth who are the future.

He said leaders should be at the forefront of road safety because when the message comes from an authority everyone feels compelled to follow suit. Mr Bonyongo said the symposium was meant for learning and sharing ideas for capacity building and hence should not end there but be shared with colleagues at the offices.

The MD said safety should be a personal choice and come from the emotion but not depend on intellectual messages of road safety. He said at Debswana they have zero tolerance towards accidents in the mine because they don’t want to upset consumers who desire Botswana diamonds. Ends