Mnangagwa implores motorists to be cautious

Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa yesterday implored motorists to exercise extreme caution during the Easter and Independence holidays to minimise carnage on the country's roads.
Zimbabweans join the rest of the world in celebrating Easter Holidays to commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, one of the major national events on Christian calender, before commemorating Independence Day on Tuesday.
Many people travel to celebrate the holidays with their beloved ones in different parts of the country.
"First and foremost, yes we are in this Easter mood, the first request that I would like to make is that perhaps if we can, let's have our Easter this time around with less accidents than we had last Easter," said VP Mnangagwa in an interview.
"We would want to have less accidents on our roads, which have been claiming a lot of citizens. So I implore drivers and users of our highways to be cautious.
"To those who are travelling they should know that it would be better to arrive home late and safely than to rash and fail to reach home. So, it's my plea that perhaps we all love peace and love our friends, be careful on the roads and pray to God that this time around we won't have as many accidents as previously."
Statistics released this week showed that 220 people were killed during Easter Holidays for the past six years.
VP Mnangagwa implored churches to pray for the country to have an accident free holiday.
"And of cause, all the churches must pray for us," he said. "It doesn't matter which type of church, some with spirits, some without, all of them should pray if God is one.
"And all of those who drink beer should do the same, for the purpose is to be peaceful."
Bishop Patience Hove of Elshaddai Ministries International urged people to commemorate the death of Christ with prayers and peace.
"Easter is a very important holiday we should honour as a nation," she said. "This is the time we ought to commemorate the death of Christ through prayers and there is a need for us to respect the holiday for what it means because we do not need to die. Christ died for us.
"It's a prayerful holiday, lets worship Jesus Christ for he was crucified for us and be peaceful and cautious, especially for those who will be travelling. For those in Harare we are proudly inviting you to join us."
Many Christian organisations will hold conferences and meetings starting today in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus.