AfricaPress-Tanzania: A road safety and audit programme aimed to ease traffic accidents by offering courses to address the scourge will be offered at National Institute of Transport thanks to an African Development Bank’s U$2.1 million (over 4.87bn/-) f
NIT Rector, Professor Zacharia Mganilwa said in Dar es Salaam last week that the institute has already established a Regional Centre of Excellence in Road Safety (RCoERS) with support of AfDB. Prof Mganilwa said that the AfDB has already disbursed the cash.
“Through an agreement with African Development Bank, we will start offering road safety assessment and audit courses that will help reduce road accidents,” he said adding that once NIT receives accreditation from International Road Federation (IRF) for the course, it will start offering the courses before the end of this year.
“There is no institution in the country offering road safety assessment and safety audit courses which makes NIT the first one to offer such courses,” he added while noting that with IRF accreditation, graduates from the RCoERS will be recognised and accepted internationally.
“There will be no need again for Tanzanians and for companies to send their employees to train abroad,” the NIT Rector stated while stressing that many Tanzanians and local firms lack international credentials to participate in global tenders and recruitment as advertised by international companies and institutions.
“In future, we want to see all road construction and maintenance projects that need international qualifications as a criterion to be taken by locals,” he added saying under a memorandum of understanding signed with AfDB, the RCoER will have an international consultant as well as 10 local professionals who will receive training on trainers’ courses.
“The RCoER will take professionals from Dar es Salaam University, Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology, Tanzania National Roads Agency, Tanzania Rural and Urban Roads Agency who will undergo the training of trainers’ course on road safety and audit,” Prof Mganilwa stated.
Upon their successful completion of the courses, the 10 experts will enable NIT seek IRF accreditation. “After the International Road Federation’s approval, the Regional Centre of Excellence in Road Safety will immediately commence offering courses at NIT’s Mabibo campus,” the NIT boss noted.
The courses will also be offered online to students in Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya and countries which are members of Southern Africa Development Community which will enable many people to enrol and get IRF recognised certificates.
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