24 Nov 2022

The Ministry of Transport and Public Works has adopted multifaceted strategies to achieve road safety in the country.

In his response to a parliamentary question, Minister Eric Molale said strategies included communication and Road Side Campaigns, Children’s Traffic Education, mounting roadblocks and road audits to inform roads infrastructure across the country.

The strategy is a collective responsibility with other stakeholders, which include Botswana Police Service, Motor Vehicle Accident Fund and some youth road safety clubs such as the Society of Road Safety Ambassadors, he said.

The minister said in 2022 alone, 12 340 road crashes had been recorded as at November 14, with fatal crashes at 239, and fatalities at 307.

Regarding statistics recorded along A35 (Sehithwa-Mohembo) this year, road crashes stand at 43, with 1 fatal crash and a fatality.

Minister Molale expressed satisfaction with the condition of roads in the North West region and noted that the ministry would continue carrying out routine maintenance works of roads in the region by using a combination of in-house resources and outsourcing.

“The intention is to carry out these clustered maintenance works by adopting the Output Based Performance Method, which has been piloted in the Southern District in the past eight years,” he said adding that in September the ministry awarded reconstruction projects for the Gumare-Sepopa road and Sepopa-Mohembo road.

Further roads, he said were planned for reconstruction during the Transitional National Development Plan and National Development Plan 12 periods such as the Nata-Maun road and the Gumare road.

Ngami MP had wanted the minister to brief the house on the ministry’s strategies to achieve road safety as well as the statistics of fatal road accidents and deaths recorded in the country and along the Sehithwa-Mohembo road.

He also wanted to know plans in place to improve the state of roads in the North West region. ENDS