Where motorcycles rule the roost
MAHENYE in Chipinge South, near the Mozambique border, is one of Zimbabwe’s many tourist attractions.
Holidaymakers from across the globe troop to this remote tip of the country to be in harmony with nature.
Located on the edges of Save River, tourists cruising in four-wheel drive vehicles are a permanent feature.
As the tourists cruise in SUVs, the area’s indigenous people have to make do with motorcycles. Travelling locals often sit precariously on the edges of the motorcycles’ pillions.
Although motorcycles are designed to carry just two people, in Mahenye as many as four people, some of them carrying children on their backs, can be transported on one in this densely forested area.
Unlike other areas in the country where the infamous Honda Fit or the FunCargo are used as pirate taxis, the motorcycle is the preferred choice here.
In Asia and other African countries, the use of motorbikes as a means of public commuter transport is common. However, this phenomenon is still new in many parts of Zimbabwe, with commuters not warming up to this mode of transport.
Yet it appears communities in Chipinge South have taken a leaf from people across the border in Mozambique, where the use of motorcycles as public transport appears to be the norm. Despite the fact that the commuters will be crammed on worn-out pillions, they still have to pay much more than those that use other modes of transport.
For instance, it costs $20 for one to travel from Mutandahwe on the border with Mozambique to Save River Bridge, a distance of less than 10 kilometres.
Isaiah Maranele, a local, explained this unusual set-up.
“We only have two commuter omnibuses that service the Save-Mahenye route and these kombis travel very early in the morning. As a result, we then opt for the motorcycles, which are very convenient,” Maranele said.
The Sunday Mail Society gathered that the majority of the motorcycles, which are not in the best of condition, are illegally brought into the country from Mozambique. Locals say the motorcycles are barter traded with sesame, which is grown in this part of the country and is in great demand in Mozambique.
Most of the trade-ins are conducted at Chingore, a border settlement near Mahenye. For the past three years, villagers in Maparadze, which is under Chief Garahwa, have been relying on the motorcycles for easy transportation.
Without helmets, the villagers expose themselves to great risks. Two people are reported to have died after an accident. But Esnath Chauke, who was clinging on to a motorcycle pillion, said commuters do not have a choice but to use the motorcycles.
“The motorcycles are fast and convenient. The kombis are not reliable and only service this area once every day,” Chauke said.
Tafadzwa Goliati, the president of the Passenger Association of Zimbabwe, warned travellers to consider their safety.
“In the case of those using motorcycles as a mode of transport, they don’t wear helmets. In addition to that, the motorcycles will be overloaded. There is a transport crisis I agree but passengers must also put their safety first before anything else,” Goliati said.
Online sources indicate that in East Africa, most notably in Kenya, motorcycles are commonly used as a mode of public transport. The widespread use of motorcycles in Africa is projected to increase in the next few years.