Zambia road safety watchdog concerned about rise in road traffic deaths

Date:

Lusaka, Oct. 22, 2020 (Xinhua/NAN) An organisation that promotes road safety in Zambia on Thursday expressed concern over the rising cases of road traffic deaths recorded in the third quarter of this year.

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According to figures released by the police, a total of 483 people died in 7,756 road traffic accidents recorded during the quarter from 434 deaths that occurred during the same period in 2019.

The Zambia Road Safety Trust said the increase in road fatalities was a source of concern which had to be addressed.

“In spite of a precipitous drop in traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people killed in car collisions this year in Zambia is now more than it was at this point in 2019.

This is an alarming 11 per cent rise in fatalities,” Daniel Mwamba, the organisation’s chairperson said.

He said the increase was tragic and unacceptable which required fast action, adding that collective government response shown in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic should be used to address issues of road traffic accidents.

The lessons from the unified, national response to COVID-19 provide real hope for developing a new national road safety strategy which is urgently needed to save lives, he added.

In a statement, police spokesperson Esther Mwaata-Katongo attributed the road traffic accidents recorded in the third quarter of 2020 to, among other things, excessive speeding, misjudging clearance distance and failing to keep to the nearside.

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Rural banditry, a major threat to Nigeria’s security – expert October 22, 2020 3:50 pm by patience.omoha Banditry By Patience Longyen Abuja, Oct. 22, 2020 (NAN) Dr Chris Kwaja, an expert in peace and conflict resolution, says the menace of rural banditry has remained a major security threat to Nigeria’s corporate existence. Kwaja made the remarks while speaking at a symposium held at the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution on Thursday in Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the symposium is “the role of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria’s core conflicts”. Speaking on the topic “Civil Society and Nigeria’s core conflict: rural banditry,” Kwaja noted that a successful approach towards ending rural banditry would require deep synergy among all stakeholders. He stressed that this would require collaboration between rural communities, security agencies and the CSOs. “For the security agencies to launch successful country-banditry operations, it will require the strong support of the communities as key providers of intelligence. “The experiences of communities as victims of banditry have had a huge impact about their perception for the security agencies as the first responders to their security needs. “This will require restoring the fractured trust between the civilian population and the security agencies,’’ he said. According to Kwaja, civil society can play a complementary role in this effort by developing a framework that would complement efforts of the communities and government. “The ability of CSOs to develop a robust framework for community-level early warning and response as well as conflict management, remains an important pathway for community cohesion in Northern Nigeria.’’ He noted that the reality was that beyond the use of force by security agencies, “there are opportunities for civil society and communities to intervene’’. He added that such measures, driven by CSOs thorough putting in place structures and mechanisms for responses that are comprehensive and sustainable, would go a long way in tackling rural banditry
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