Odzi bus tragedy: Accident fund on the cards
TWELVE victims of the bus accident that occurred near Shamu in Odzi last Saturday are still admitted at Mutare Provincial Hospital with Government indicating that the work on the setting up of the Insurance for Road Traffic Accident Fund is at an advanced stage.
The accident, which involved a General Bande bus and a haulage truck, killed 16 people and injured 40.
Of the injured, 35 were rushed to Mutare Provincial Pospital for treatment and 26 were admitted. On Wednesday Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Joel Biggie Matiza, who was out of the country when the accident happened, visited the accident victims at the hospital.
He told The Manica Post Government work on the establishment of the insurance for road traffic accident fund - to cater for such victims - was now at an advanced stage.
“We are in the process of doing this insurance for road traffic accident fund, which is at an advanced stage. This will take care of such events. Of course some transporters are not insured enough and that is causing untold suffering in terms of financial backing,” said Minister Matiza.
He also urged the tightening of traffic laws to help avert road carnages.
“It is a sad story that on our roads we are having these kinds of carnages happening blamed on mechanical fault and also human error. There is need for tightening of the rules and regulations on roads. Government has always been pushing and putting enforcements but the drivers and owners of the buses need to play their role in making sure that the drivers rest, they do not drink and that they are vehicles are roadworthy so that we can avert such kinds of accidents,” added Minister Matiza.
He applauded medical staff at the Mutare Provincial Hospital for ensuring the injured were given unparalleled attention.
“When I visited the patients I was quite impressed by the way the hospital managed to contain the situation unlike some media reports that we heard. I think a lot of good work has been done professionally with stakeholders coming in to assist and to be part and parcel of the whole programme of rehabilitating the injured. It is marvellous,” he said.
Minister Matiza challenged transporters to show some morality when accidents of that nature happen.
“They need to have some morality to console the relatives of the victims,” he said.
In a separate interview, Mutare Provincial Hospital medical superintendent Dr Dorcas Mutede confirmed 12 victims were still hospitalised.
“So far in the wards we have 12 patients that are still admitted but most of them are recovering well.
“Some of them have already been discharged and the most critically ill one who was in the intensive care unit has now been moved to the general ward. We are hopeful that all of them will go home,” she said.
“We received 35 patients — 20 males and 15 females — but we admitted 26 on Sunday. They have been managed gradually and today on Wednesday we now have 12. The rest of have been discharged.”