Road accident fund, take a leaf from SA
EDITOR — I am a Zimbabwean businessman living in South Africa and I want to applaud the Government on making a move to introduce the Road Accident Fund.
While this is a noble initiative I think the money to finance the fund has to come from somewhere else considering that fuel prices are quite high in Zimbabwe, but generally the idea is worth pursuing.
The fund, like the South African one, should be a state-supported insurance fund that provides compensation to the victims of road accidents.
The fund would provide personal injury and, when applicable, death compensation to victims of motor vehicle accidents, provided the accidents won`t be a result of negligence.
Additionally, the fund would provide compensation for medical expenses that result from a motor vehicle accident, funeral expenses in the case of a death and general damages for pain and suffering and extreme losses such as losing an unborn child or sustaining serious disfigurement, mental impairment or the disruption of a bodily function.
The best part about this fund is that everyone including passengers, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists affected can all claim from the fund as long as they were not entirely responsible for the accident.
Zimbabwe can model their fund on the South African system as it has been running smoothly. John Sithole, Johannesburg, South Africa IT will be well if the 40 schools in Matabeleland South close according to Dr Sylvia Utete-Masango. I cannot imagine the already persevering children going to school regardless of long distances and poverty with all the other difficult circumstances and now the policy maker thinks of further burying our children’s future. This is like burying children alive. It is difficult to come to terms with such a policy maker in this day and age when we as Zimbabweans are signatories to the children’s rights convention. Has the policy maker consulted the communities on how best children’s best interests could be served. My suggestion would be if the thoughts are serious the parents or the affected regions should not pay tax but instead they should hire teachers with the money they were supposed to use to pay tax. This is just a suggestion to prevent marginalisation, and the discrimination of children. — Sitshengisiwe Ncube
THE late great reggae star Bob Marley and interesting fact: This year marked his 36th anniversary and he also died at the age of 36. — Lovemore Kashawo.
PLEASE can our President, Cde RG Mugabe, help us. Zesa is disconnecting electricity in Entumbane. It is refusing payment plans. — Angry Resident, Bulawayo
CAN somebody tell us what is happening with network coverage on all network lines. Econet, Telecel and NetOne subscribers loku sokuzasiphuma please. Asifuni — Bambulu, Bulawayo.