Africa-Press – Botswana. There is need for stakeholders to implement effective interventions that mitigate road accidents, which continue to adversely affect the economy.
Assistant Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Mr Keoagile Atamelang said this at the launch of the 8th UN Global Road Safety week in Gaborone yesterday. He said government was committed to improving road safety through a multifaceted approach with several interventions put in place such strengthening legislation by continuously reviewing and updating road traffic laws, targeted public awareness educational campaigns in schools and public places.
Also, investing in road infrastructure was another intervention in place, which the assistant minister said would ensure that roads were safe and well-maintained, through construction of pedestrian walkways, street lights and improved signage.
Additionally, he said the ministry was committed to creating safer and more inclusive transportation systems for pedestrians and cyclists to ensure their safety and well-being. Mr Atamelang said the ministry would create dedicated lanes that would separate them from motor vehicle traffic to reduce the risk of accidents.
“In Botswana an average of 400 lives are lost annually on the roads. In the last two years, the statistics ranged from 396 in 2023 to 343 in 2024. From January to April 2025, 92 lives are already lost, pedestrians and cyclists included,” said Mr Atamelang.
He said globally, one in four deaths occur among pedestrians and cyclists.The 8th UN Road Safety Week is commemorated under the theme: Streets for Life: #Making Walking and Cycling Safe. The theme promotes safe and inclusive usage of the road by everybody.
World Health Organisation (WHO) Country Representative, Dr Fabian Ndenzako said clear, clean and well lit walkways and cycling lanes encouraged people to walk or cycle for fun as well as for their physical, social and mental health and wellbeing, without worrying about colliding with vehicles. He said this helped ease traffic congestion and reduced chances of crashes that may result in injuries or death that came at a huge cost to all. He he noted that Botswana had good road infrastructure.
“I am certain that there is strong political commitment, a key requisite for achieving national goals and contributing to global ones. Botswana has done well in many ways, however, I hasten to iterate that there is always room for improvement,” Dr Ndenzako said.
WHO estimates that 1.2 million people are killed and 50 million injured each year on roads around the world, especially among the 5–29-year age bracket. Data further shows that road crashes cost countries about 3 per cent of their GDP.
Dr Ndenzako said these costs were felt across the economy through hospitalisations, outpatient care, rehabilitation, insurance cover, job losses, lost income, absenteeism, reduced productivity, damaged infrastructure and other social costs including death. He therefore said such called for inclusive and integrated multi-sectoral policy development, programme planning, implementation and monitoring.
“To help countries deliver on this, the UN has come up with a global action plan based on the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 aligned with the SDGs and informed by international guidance including Declarations and Resolutions of the UN, WHO, AU and global meetings of ministers of transport,” Dr Ndenzako said.
Additionally he said road safety affected all sectors and therefore required a multi-sectoral approach. Road safety, Dr Ndenzako said started with comprehensive inclusive policy and legal frameworks, strong governance, comprehensive safe systems approach, people centered road infrastructure design, informed, empowered and engaged communities as well as effective law enforcement.
“The UN system and its partners stand ready to support countries in working towards globally agreed commitments including cutting road deaths by 50 per cent by 2030. Ratifying UN Road Safety Conventions, aligning national Road Safety plans with global plans and targets and actively and constantly engaging stakeholders are some success factors to consider,” said Dr Ndenzako.
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