News / Local
Livestock-vehicle accidents; govt to blame
15 Dec 2013 at 03:38hrs | Views
THE spate of fatal accidents due to vandalism of fences along the country's highways could continue to haunt the country due to police failure to locate and charge farmers for leaving their animals to stray onto roads as well as prosecutors' ignorance of the relevant legislation, Sunday News reported.
Prosecutor General Mr Johannes Tomana referred all questions pertaining to the specific legislation on stray animals on highways to the area public prosecutor for Matabeleland North, Mr Simon Muleya.
However, when the newspaper visited Bulawayo Tredgold magistrates' courts, prosecutors could not find the relevant legislation.
They said the Act they were in possession of was an old one which was repealed in 1987 and they did not have the latest information on it.
"It is difficult to prosecute a farmer whose cattle stray because there is no fence along the highway, as the fence is the responsibility of Government," Mr Muleya said.
Mr Tomana, however, said it was illegal to have animals straying onto highways or railways as they posed a danger to traffic.
"Animals should not be found wandering on highways or railway lines as it poses various dangers to motorists and the unfortunate bit is that some fences are now very old and missing in some cases. They also have not been replaced which is a challenge and we are considering this as a priority so that there is no road carnage involving stray animals," he said.
National Anti-Stock Theft Unit Co-ordinator, Senior Assistant Commissioner Bernard Dumbura, said it was difficult for arrests to be made after livestock-related accidents occurred as farmers did not claim their animals for fear of prosecution.
He said the police had engaged the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development to ensure that highway fencing was done as a matter of urgency.
"We have engaged the Ministry of Transport so that our highways are fenced off to prevent accidents and livestock owners should be aware that it is a criminal offence to let your cattle stray onto the roads," said Asst Comm Dumbura.
Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister, Dr Obert Mpofu, blamed farming communities for the vandalism of fences along highways.
"Communities in these resettlement areas are the ones to blame for the vandalism of fences along the highways and it is a grave concern to the ministry as animals are now straying onto the highways putting the lives of people in serious danger," Dr Mpofu said.
Dr Mpofu, however, said Government was committed to fencing the country's major roads to put a stop to the high number of livestock-vehicle accidents that have been claiming lives on Zimbabwe's highways.
He said Cabinet had discussed and agreed to erect exclusion fences along the country's highways to reduce livestock-vehicle mishaps.
"The Government is concerned about accidents involving vehicles and livestock. These accidents have claimed many lives and the sad part about the whole thing is that they are preventable accidents. Cabinet has agreed that we should fence the highways and we are going to do that. At the moment the problem we have is a lack of funds but it's an obstacle that we can overcome," said Dr Mpofu.
The Deputy Minister of Agriculture (Livestock), Paddington Zhanda, said communities along the highways were guilty of stealing fences meant to protect their own cattle from straying into the highways thereby distracting motorists and causing accidents.
Dr Mpofu also said another challenge with cattle and donkey owners whose livestock cause accidents was that they never come to claim the carcasses of their animals as they feared prosecution. This, he said, made it difficult to bring the farmers to book.
He also said traditional leaders needed to be roped in when educating the communities on the importance of fencing on highways.
"We urge traditional leaders to create awareness campaigns in their areas on the importance of keeping highways fenced so that would-be offenders are deterred from vandalising fences. We cannot have unnecessary loss of life because people are stealing fences," he said.
Zhanda said during the rain season it was common to see grass growing along the highways and cattle stray to those areas to graze.
"When animals are not paddocked it poses a challenge whereby animals stray to the highways distracting traffic. It also promotes the spread of diseases among herds as they roam about in different places. When livestock is controlled, we can also control the spread of diseases.
Six people were killed when a Pathfinder bus hit a cow and then collided head-on with a haulage truck in Shangani along the Bulawayo-Gweru highway recently.
People living in the surrounding area of the accident scene in Jama resettlement area blamed the accident on fellow residents who steal the bordering paddock fences leading to livestock straying onto the Bulawayo-Harare highway, risking the lives of motorists and other road users.
According to Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe official, Mr Ernest Muchena, the high number of domestic livestock straying into roads had made driving along major roads in Matabeleland region risky.
"Vehicle animal collision is prevalent in Matabeleland region along the Beitbridge and Masvingo roadS where there are a lot of donkeys that are astray.
"Beitbridge-Bulawayo road is another problem, so is the Bulawayo-Plumtree road," said Mr Muchena.
He said vehicle-animal collision was also rampant in Mashonaland along the Harare-Mukumbura road and Harare Chirundu road.
Mr Muchena said since Zimbabwe was a cattle country, vehicle and animal collision tended to be high. He highlighted that vehicle-animal collisions were prevalent especially during the night.
"People normally hit the animals during the night. Night-time fatalities are more prevalent than daytime fatality rate. The major causes of accidents are speeding. If a driver is speeding during the night, he or she will not be able to react and stop when he sees an animal. Again dangerous overtaking is another cause where an animal is on the road and the driver fails to notice it," he said.
Other sections of society proposed that those found vandalising fences be fined heavily, a suggestion that the Matabeleland Livestock Investment Initiative secretary Mr Sifiso Sibanda strongly disapproved.
"Heavy fines will not change anything. What needs to be done is to educate the farmers and the community on what the dangers of vandalising fences are to motorists and livestock itself. They need vigorous awareness campaigns where they get an appreciation of what vandalism can do. Punitive measures of forcing compliance do not work effectively," said Mr Sibanda.
He said some villagers stole the fence to fence off their homesteads and this was done out of ignorance. He suggested that once people had been educated there should be committees headed by traditional leaders that police the fences.
"When communities are educated there should be committees that do the policing and actually do patrols so that they safeguard the fence and those caught vandalising should be handed over to the police," he said.
Mr Sibanda acknowledged that farmers needed to paddock their animals as it was a prerequisite after acquiring land.
Prosecutor General Mr Johannes Tomana referred all questions pertaining to the specific legislation on stray animals on highways to the area public prosecutor for Matabeleland North, Mr Simon Muleya.
However, when the newspaper visited Bulawayo Tredgold magistrates' courts, prosecutors could not find the relevant legislation.
They said the Act they were in possession of was an old one which was repealed in 1987 and they did not have the latest information on it.
"It is difficult to prosecute a farmer whose cattle stray because there is no fence along the highway, as the fence is the responsibility of Government," Mr Muleya said.
Mr Tomana, however, said it was illegal to have animals straying onto highways or railways as they posed a danger to traffic.
"Animals should not be found wandering on highways or railway lines as it poses various dangers to motorists and the unfortunate bit is that some fences are now very old and missing in some cases. They also have not been replaced which is a challenge and we are considering this as a priority so that there is no road carnage involving stray animals," he said.
National Anti-Stock Theft Unit Co-ordinator, Senior Assistant Commissioner Bernard Dumbura, said it was difficult for arrests to be made after livestock-related accidents occurred as farmers did not claim their animals for fear of prosecution.
He said the police had engaged the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development to ensure that highway fencing was done as a matter of urgency.
"We have engaged the Ministry of Transport so that our highways are fenced off to prevent accidents and livestock owners should be aware that it is a criminal offence to let your cattle stray onto the roads," said Asst Comm Dumbura.
Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister, Dr Obert Mpofu, blamed farming communities for the vandalism of fences along highways.
"Communities in these resettlement areas are the ones to blame for the vandalism of fences along the highways and it is a grave concern to the ministry as animals are now straying onto the highways putting the lives of people in serious danger," Dr Mpofu said.
Dr Mpofu, however, said Government was committed to fencing the country's major roads to put a stop to the high number of livestock-vehicle accidents that have been claiming lives on Zimbabwe's highways.
He said Cabinet had discussed and agreed to erect exclusion fences along the country's highways to reduce livestock-vehicle mishaps.
"The Government is concerned about accidents involving vehicles and livestock. These accidents have claimed many lives and the sad part about the whole thing is that they are preventable accidents. Cabinet has agreed that we should fence the highways and we are going to do that. At the moment the problem we have is a lack of funds but it's an obstacle that we can overcome," said Dr Mpofu.
The Deputy Minister of Agriculture (Livestock), Paddington Zhanda, said communities along the highways were guilty of stealing fences meant to protect their own cattle from straying into the highways thereby distracting motorists and causing accidents.
Dr Mpofu also said another challenge with cattle and donkey owners whose livestock cause accidents was that they never come to claim the carcasses of their animals as they feared prosecution. This, he said, made it difficult to bring the farmers to book.
"We urge traditional leaders to create awareness campaigns in their areas on the importance of keeping highways fenced so that would-be offenders are deterred from vandalising fences. We cannot have unnecessary loss of life because people are stealing fences," he said.
Zhanda said during the rain season it was common to see grass growing along the highways and cattle stray to those areas to graze.
"When animals are not paddocked it poses a challenge whereby animals stray to the highways distracting traffic. It also promotes the spread of diseases among herds as they roam about in different places. When livestock is controlled, we can also control the spread of diseases.
Six people were killed when a Pathfinder bus hit a cow and then collided head-on with a haulage truck in Shangani along the Bulawayo-Gweru highway recently.
People living in the surrounding area of the accident scene in Jama resettlement area blamed the accident on fellow residents who steal the bordering paddock fences leading to livestock straying onto the Bulawayo-Harare highway, risking the lives of motorists and other road users.
According to Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe official, Mr Ernest Muchena, the high number of domestic livestock straying into roads had made driving along major roads in Matabeleland region risky.
"Vehicle animal collision is prevalent in Matabeleland region along the Beitbridge and Masvingo roadS where there are a lot of donkeys that are astray.
"Beitbridge-Bulawayo road is another problem, so is the Bulawayo-Plumtree road," said Mr Muchena.
He said vehicle-animal collision was also rampant in Mashonaland along the Harare-Mukumbura road and Harare Chirundu road.
Mr Muchena said since Zimbabwe was a cattle country, vehicle and animal collision tended to be high. He highlighted that vehicle-animal collisions were prevalent especially during the night.
"People normally hit the animals during the night. Night-time fatalities are more prevalent than daytime fatality rate. The major causes of accidents are speeding. If a driver is speeding during the night, he or she will not be able to react and stop when he sees an animal. Again dangerous overtaking is another cause where an animal is on the road and the driver fails to notice it," he said.
Other sections of society proposed that those found vandalising fences be fined heavily, a suggestion that the Matabeleland Livestock Investment Initiative secretary Mr Sifiso Sibanda strongly disapproved.
"Heavy fines will not change anything. What needs to be done is to educate the farmers and the community on what the dangers of vandalising fences are to motorists and livestock itself. They need vigorous awareness campaigns where they get an appreciation of what vandalism can do. Punitive measures of forcing compliance do not work effectively," said Mr Sibanda.
He said some villagers stole the fence to fence off their homesteads and this was done out of ignorance. He suggested that once people had been educated there should be committees headed by traditional leaders that police the fences.
"When communities are educated there should be committees that do the policing and actually do patrols so that they safeguard the fence and those caught vandalising should be handed over to the police," he said.
Mr Sibanda acknowledged that farmers needed to paddock their animals as it was a prerequisite after acquiring land.
Source - Sunday News
