By Shalom Shawurwa
Zimbabwe’s government has launched its 2025 Festive Season Road Safety Education, Enforcement and Awareness Campaign warning that reckless driving, speeding and human error continue to exact a heavy toll on the country’s roads.
Speaking at the launch in Juru, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Felix Mhona said road accidents were claiming an average of five lives every day — about 2 000 deaths each year.
“On average, 38 people are injured every day on the roads in Zimbabwe, and the country loses about US$406 million annually from road traffic accidents which is about three percent of GDP,” he said.
The campaign comes ahead of the festive season, traditionally one of the deadliest periods on the roads due to increased travel over Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year combined with hazardous rainy-season driving conditions.
Mhona said traffic volumes rise sharply at a time when visibility and road conditions often deteriorate, making strict enforcement and public awareness critical.
Speeding and human error, he added, remain the leading causes of crashes.
He said government was strengthening road safety through policy, legislation and enforcement under the National Development Strategy framework, which is transitioning from NDS 1 to NDS 2.
Among the key initiatives is progress towards establishing a Road Accident Fund following Cabinet approval in June 2025.
“The post-crash management framework will ensure that accident victims receive medical care within the first 60 minutes, increasing their chances of survival,” Mhona said.
As a short-term measure, ambulances with medical personnel will be stationed at tollgates and accident-prone areas during the festive period.
Enforcement will also be stepped up, with multi-agency teams including the Zimbabwe Republic Police, Vehicle Inspection Department and Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe deployed nationwide.
Persistent offenders risk arrest, prosecution and possible loss of operating licences.
Separately, the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Kazembe Kazembe called for collective responsibility, saying road safety was a shared national duty.
Addressing the same campaign launch he warned that human error remained the dominant cause of fatalities.
He cited drinking and driving, speeding, defective tyres, dangerous overtaking, failure to wear seatbelts, mobile phone use while driving and vehicle overloading as key risk factors.
Claims that mechanical faults were to blame, he said were often misleading.
Police will intensify roadblocks and breathalyser tests on major highways, while the media was urged to continue educating the public.
