Harare Correspondent
Concerns have been raised regarding some bus operators who are tampering with speed limiting devices installed in public service vehicles.
This alarming trend has been highlighted by officials, indicating that drivers are frequently exceeding the mandatory speed limit while transporting passengers.
According to Statutory Instrument (SI) 118 of 2023, all public service vehicles are required to be fitted with speed limiting devices that restrict the vehicle’s speed to 100 km per hour or less.
These devices must be certified by a vehicle inspecting officer to ensure compliance.
Joy Makumbe, the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development, addressed the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Accounts, stating,
“From three or four instances that we have monitored where we have seen some anomalies, we have noted that some unscrupulous bus operators or drivers fit these gadgets for compliance purposes to obtain a certificate of fitness at VID (Vehicle Inspection Department).” She further explained,
“Once they get a certificate of fitness, either they remove the gadgets or they just return with the gadgets. And we have since proved that.”
Makumbe cited a recent incident involving a bus captured on camera by Youth Empowerment Minister Tino Machakaire.
“When the bus was impounded by VID, they noticed that the gadget was temporary,” she noted,
She also emphased the seriousness of the situation. Under the current regulations, temporarily removing these devices is considered a crime, punishable by a level five fine or imprisonment, or both.
However, Makumbe acknowledged that there is currently no capacity for electronic monitoring of these speed limiting devices.
“What we are also now trying to do is a deterrent measure for issues that are within our safety,” she explained.
“For us to be able to enforce these speed limiting gadgets and ensure compliance, we need our enforcement authorities on the roads, primarily in this case, to have mobile gadgets that can extract information from buses that would have been speeding.”
The issue has become increasingly pressing as Zimbabwe has witnessed a rise in fatal accidents involving buses on highways, suggesting that many are traveling above the mandated speed limit.
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