At least 44% of road fatalities in the country occur along the Plumtree-Bulawayo-Mutare highway which was resurfaced a few years ago at a cost of over $200 million, Transport minister Joram Gumbo has revealed.
Nkululeko Sibanda
Speaking during the handover of a $700 000 perimeter fence put up along the Bulawayo-Plumtree highway to the local community on Friday, Gumbo implored communities living along the highway to desist from cutting the barbed wire.
“It is indisputable that this highway is the most navigable road in the country at the moment,” he said.
“That being the case, it is very disturbing to note that out of the 1 291 fatal crashes recorded in 2016, 569 cases, which constitute 44%, occurred on this recently surfaced highway followed by the Beitbridge-Chirundu highway which contributed 304 cases (23%).”
Gumbo said the Harare-Bindura and Harare-Murehwa highways also recorded 128 and 97 fatalities, respectively.
