GREAT NORTH ROAD REQUIRES FACELIFT TO AVERT MISHAPS

THE Great North Road has claimed so many lives due to road accidents. These are mostly caused by the poor state of the road. In view of this, there is need to work on the Great North Road by expanding it and mending the potholes.

The case in point is last week’s death of 21 members of the United Church of Zambia (UCZ) Women Christian Fellowship in a road traffic accident which happened last Monday in Nsama of the Northern Province.

The deaths of the UCZ members is traumatising and it is a national disaster. The deceased have since been buried.

The officials from the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) are on a six-day fact finding mission on the Great North Road to identify the danger spots where accidents have mostly occured.

The agency further strives to reduce road accidents by 50 percent before the end of the year. It is the wish of every person that a solution will be found after the fact-finding mission to ameliorate the road accidents across the country.

However, motorists should be careful by avoiding speeding in view of the poor state of most roads. Over speeding and night driving have been cited as other causes of road traffic accidents.

The Great North Road is a busy route in that goods and people pass through this road. In other words, it plays an economic role as it facilitates the movement of goods and services from Zambia to other countries and vice versa.

In conclusion, let me hasten to mention here that the road mishaps across the country and Great North Road in particular is a source of concern. This being the case, there is need to find a lasting solution. This can be done by giving the facelift to the roads in a deplorable state. The Great North Road is not wide enough, punctuated by numerous potholes.