Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambique’s government announced on Monday that it would create an agency to prevent and investigate road accidents in the country, where at least 575 people died between January and August.
“The creation of an agency for the prevention and investigation of transport accidents has also been planned, which will be responsible for coordinating preventive actions and independently analysing the causes of accidents,” said Luís Chaúque, the Inspector General for Transport.
He was speaking during the Consultative Council of the National Road Transport Institute (INATRO), which is taking place in Maputo province. He called for concrete action from professionals in the sector, including traffic officers, in efforts to curb road accidents.
“We can no longer go along with the indiscipline that characterises our roads, especially in the area of public passenger transport,” said Chaúque, calling for a “radical change” in the actions of INATRO professionals in road inspection, promising “strong measures” against professionals who condone “misconduct” on the roads.
In addition to the creation of the agency, the government had previously proposed the establishment of compulsory rest stops for drivers every 300 kilometres and the rotation of long-distance drivers as part of measures to curb road accidents.
The government said earlier that it will also use “technological solutions” to control road accidents, intensify surveillance and implement a ban on the night-time circulation of international and inter-provincial passenger transport vehicles.
The government is also going to intensify the inspection of the capacity of public transport vehicles, with “compulsory disembarkation” of overcrowded vehicles, the creation of a line for reporting irregularities, the introduction of a legal device that imposes the use of speed limiters in transport vehicles, and intensifying road awareness and education actions.
Yesterday, the Inspector General of Transport said that the country and the world are experiencing “a gloomy picture of road accidents”, with road accidents being one of the main causes of death, especially among children and young people aged between 5 and 29.
“In Mozambique, the picture of road accidents is even bleaker, with a tendency to increase human damage and the destruction of public and private property. This has an impact on the economy, costing around 10% of our Gross Domestic Product every year,” said Luís Chaúque who, once again, described the situation as “worrying”.
In August alone, at least 87 people died in Mozambique as a result of 48 road accidents, said the interior minister, acknowledging his concern at the high level of road accidents and calling for greater responsibility on the part of traffic officers in enforcement.
On 13 September, the Ministry of the Interior suspended the traffic inspectors who were on duty at the road checkpoint where an accident occurred in the district of Nicoadala, Zambézia province, in the centre of the country, in which 11 people died.
On 15 April, the government also approved a Road Safety Action Plan, which includes stepping up inspections, changes to legislation and interventions at critical points, as well as raising awareness among communities.
At least 575 people died in road accidents between January and August in Mozambique, an increase of 14% compared to the same period in 2024, the government said last week.
Road accident rates in Mozambique are classified as dramatic, with the authorities pointing to speeding and drink-driving as the main causes.
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