25 Aug 2021

Parliament has heard that 2 138 people have died as a result of road accidents out of a total of 1 719 fatal crashes in the last five years.

Answering a question in Parliament on Wednesday, Minister of Transport and Communications, Mr Thulagano Segokgo said the accidents occurred in a number of roads around the country.

Mr Segokgo said that the most outstanding ones in the past five years included 415 people who died from 284 accidents that occurred along the Ramatlabama-Ramokgwebana (A1) Road, 125 from 92 accidents along Francistown to Junction 44 (through Maun A3 Road and 94 who died from the 77 accidents that occurred along A12 Road (Tlokweng Border to Scottish Livingstone Hospital in Molepolole). 

He added that 85 lives were lost from 74 accidents that occurred along A10 Road (BURS traffic lights to Sejelo Police Station in Kanye) as well 83 people who died from the 66 accidents that occurred along the A2 Road (Pioneer Gate to Mamuno).

He said the conditions of roads in the A1 section (Ramatlabama-Ramokgwebana) had different interventions applied including asphalt overlay, installation of traffic system, improvements of junctions, upgrading-dualling and road marking between 2016 and 2020.

He added that interventions applied on roads in the A3 section (Francistown-Junction 44 through Maun) included resealing, rehabilitation, asphalt overlay as well as reconstruction in the financial years 2017/18 to 2020/21.

Interventions applied on roads on the A2 section (Pioneer Gate-Mamuno), he said included chip sealing, road marking, asphalt overlay and recon and overlay between 2016 and 2019.

On the A12 section (Tlokweng Border to Molepolole), he said interventions included asphalt overlay in the 2019/20 financial year while those on the A10 section asphalt overlay was applied in the 2018/19 financial year.

Conversely, the minister indicated that not all deaths and disabilities can be attributed to poor road conditions, saying “normally road accidents are a result of various factors among them drunken driving, intoxication of drugs, reckless driving, speeding and collision with either wild animals or domestic animals in most cases cattle roaming on the roads.”

He said immediate mitigating factors that had been put in place to avert the accidents, included, among others, public education through road safety committees in the districts, law enforcement by the Department of Road Transport and Safety (transport inspectorate, vehicle examination) in collaboration with Botswana Police traffic division, media publicity through print, television, radio and social media platforms as well as maintenance of roads throughout the country.

Sefhare-Ramokgonami MP, Dr Kesitegile Gobotswang had asked the minister to update Parliament on the number of people who had died in the last five years as a result of road accidents, roads where most of such accidents occurred, their repair state and when they were repaired.

Dr Gobotswang wanted to know whether deaths and disabilities as a result of the accidents could be attributed to poor road conditions.

He also wanted to know the immediate mitigating factors the ministry had put in place to avert the accidents. ends