The Zimbabwean government is set to implement a smart traffic management system (STMS) in a bid to curb the alarming rise in road accidents and deaths.
This ambitious project, which will leverage advanced technologies, aims to optimise traffic flow, enhance safety, and improve overall efficiency in transportation networks.
Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe, speaking at the Zimpapers Safe Driving Campaign and Conference, highlighted the urgency of this initiative.
“The system is going to consist of cameras to detect offenders without the interference or interface of human beings,” he explained.
The STMS, which will be rolled out in the major cities of Harare and Bulawayo, will utilise cameras to detect violations such as speeding, running red lights, and illegal parking. The system will be linked to the Central Vehicle Registry (CVR) and Local Government, allowing for real-time identification of offenders through their number plates and facial recognition. This will enable the system to automatically issue tickets to those who break the law.
The Minister also revealed the government’s ambition to go a step further, subject to legal provisions, and enable the system to directly debit the accounts of offenders. “But we want to go further, if the laws allow us. This happens elsewhere. We want to go further and be allowed to take money (fine) from the offenders’ account.”
The STMS is being implemented in partnership with Dubai-based Vitronic Machine Vision Middle East, a company with extensive experience in deploying similar systems in countries like Morocco, Rwanda, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany and Belarus.
The decision to implement the STMS comes amidst a worrying trend of increasing road accidents and fatalities in Zimbabwe. Commissioner Paul Nyathi, the Zimbabwe Republic Police national spokesperson, revealed that the country recorded a significant increase in road traffic accidents and deaths in the first eight months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
“Total accidents that took place in 2023 were 32 618, with 1 253 people killed, whilst 6 639 were injured. In 2024, for January to August, 34 719 accidents were recorded, with 1 352 people killed. The total number of people injured so far is 6 514,” he said.
Comm Nyathi attributed the rise in road carnage to human error, highlighting common causes such as following too close, speeding, failing to give way, overtaking errors, reversing errors, misjudgement or inattention and overloading. He also expressed concern about the growing number of pirate taxi operators who are contributing to the chaos on the roads.
“Pirate taxis (mushikashika) are on the increase and they are picking up and dropping passengers at undesignated points, driving against one way, passing through red robots,” added Comm Nyathi.
Despite the government’s efforts to rehabilitate roads nationwide, some motorists continue to disregard road rules and regulations. In response, the police have launched an operation called “No to Lawlessness on the Road”, resulting in over 39,000 arrests since its inception on August 26.
The police are also in the process of acquiring new gadgets to further enhance their ability to apprehend reckless drivers.
Traffic expert Tatenda Chinoda highlighted the importance of establishing a national call centre for citizens to report incidents of reckless driving.
