01 Jul 2023

Unsafe state of roads in Botswana threatens national efforts of economic transformation due to the negative impact of road traffic crashes on the socio-economic and public health landscape.

Addressing a press conference Tuesday, Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Fund CEO, Mr Michael Tlhagwane said the situation had since compelled the organisation to add advocacy as one of its strategic initiatives to drive action towards adopting road safety management best practices.

Mr Tlhagwane said they had also identified specific areas of focus and improvement for the country to change its road safety landscape towards achieving safer mobility.

The key areas, he said, included prioritising road safety, safe systems approach, effective road safety leadership structure and 30-day fatality definition.

Again, he said the United Nation’s Global Plan of Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 had also identified road traffic crashes as an urgent development priority and public health challenge that demands immediate action.

“We, therefore, cannot afford to rest on our laurels while we continue to lose many lives as a result of preventable road traffic crashes,” he added.

Further, he said the Fund acknowledged the country’s aspirations to transform the economy from upper-middle to a high-income status by the year 2036 as well as the global aspirations espoused in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, upon which Vision 2036 was founded.

Therefore, he said achieving both the national and global aspirations was almost impossible without accessible, efficient and sustainable transport system.

“The equation for efficient and sustainable transport or mobility is not complete in the absence of road traffic safety. Road traffic safety is simply defined as the absence of risk to injury or death resulting from road traffic crashes,” he added.

Mr Tlhagwane said the organisation had to move and prioritise road safety issues, given that Botswana had over the past 10 years, been experiencing a high numbers of road traffic injuries and deaths, with an average annual fatality rate of 415.

Such average fatality rate, he said, was 18 deaths per 100 000 population and slightly higher than global index of 17.4 and much higher than high-income countries fatality index of 9.2 deaths per 100 000 population.

“As of June 25, we have already lost 185 lives due to road traffic crashes compared to 184 deaths in the corresponding period last year,” he added.

He indicated that about 90 per cent of the road crashes were attributed to human behavioural factors such as driving above the recommended speed limit, distracted driving, recklessness and driving under the influence of alcoholic beverages or drugs.

On average, he said males accounted for 70 per cent of the fatalities. He also added that people aged between 21 and 40 accounted for 68 per cent of the fatalities.

“As a result and on account of providing social security cover to victims of road traffic crashes, on average, MVA Fund spent P200 million annually in compensation claims,” he said.

The press conference was held to brief the media about the Fund’s two upcoming events, which included the CEO Safe Mobility Cycling and Run Challenge to be held on July 2 as well as the one-day Safe Mobility Forum billed for July 3.

The CEO Safe Mobility Cycling and Run Challenge is an awareness campaign focusing on promoting safety of vulnerable road users through walking, running and cycling.

Mr Tlhagwane also explained that the Safe Mobility Forum themed, Resetting the Road Safety Agenda: Adopting Best Practices for Safe Mobility Towards Sustainable Development and Economic Transformation, was meant to bring together stakeholders and policymakers to reflect, discuss opportunities and share best practices around road safety.

MVA Fund’s injury prevention senior manager, Mr Mompati Bontsibokae, BCA assistant secretary general, Mr Daniel Mophuthing and Fearless Fitness Club projects manager, Mr Bagani Phillime, also attended the press conference. Ends