JOIN DRIVERN TAXI AS PARTNER DRIVER TODAY!
ROAD Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) chief executive officer Zindaba Soko says he has officially complained to the Ministry of Transport, Works, Supply and Communications regarding a conflict he had with Deputy Inspector General of Police Solomon Jere over road-block mounting.
On the other hand, Mr Soko contends that RTSA ought to continue mounting road-blocks in order to reduce the number of accidents that occur due to drunk driving, especially over the weekend.
Dr Jere, however, feels the road-blocks – if and when mounted – must only be done in the company of the police and warned that the road-blocks could affect the ruling party’s popularity.
This led to a clash on Saturday evening, when Dr Jere openly differed with Mr Soko at a road-block mounted by RTSA on the Great East Road in Lusaka.
According to police Inspector General Stella Libongani in an interview last December, road accidents caused up to 1,200 deaths last year alone.
Dr Jere argued that RTSA needs the presence of police officers each time it mounts a road-block.
He also alleged that ‘unnecessary’ road-blocks mounted by RTSA are making the government unpopular.
But Mr Soko maintained his ground, saying RTSA was doing a correct thing mounting checkpoints.
Mr Soko told the Daily Mail in an interview in Lusaka yesterday that he has since written a report to the relevant ministry because that is where he reports.
“I have written to the ministry over what transpired. As RTSA, we are mandated by law to ensure road safety and one of the ways we do this is by mounting road-blocks,” he said.
