By KALOBWE BWALYA
THE Road transport and safety agency (RTSA) has launched Smart Enforcement Application and the Zambia Road Safety Corridor Initiative aimed at making the roads safe for all users.
Road Ttransport and Logistics minister Frank Tayali said the goal is to build an enforcement approach where road users are engaged at all times without the physical presence of road traffic enforcement officers.
Mr Tayali explained that the enforcement through the use of alternative approaches is essential for the successful reduction of road traffic accidents in Zambia.
Mr Tayali further said RTSA Smart Enforcement Application will reduce the transportation and logistics cost of the industry and also ensure smooth flow of traffic with reduced need to deploy officers since the app will be able to alert officers whenever a vehicle was in violation.
The minister further said Government places high value in facilitating the safe and timely movement of people and products by ensuring the roads are well managed with adequate measures to mitigate the risk of accidents.
He stated that the Zambia Road Safety Corridor Initiative will focus on targeted infrastructure redesigns and behavioural interventions aimed at improving safety of vulnerable road users.
Mr Tayali was speaking during the RTSA open day in Silverest under the theme leveraging on ICTs to advance RTSA’s road safety and transport service delivery mandate yesterday.
He said Government’s agenda is to ensure the policy on road transport is operationalized through efficient and equitable licensing and registration procedures.
He said the innovation by RTSA is a move aimed at reducing transportation and logistics costs of the Industry as well as ensuring the smooth flow of traffic on the Zambian roads with minimal presence of Traffic Law Enforcement Officers on the road.
The minister noted that this will significantly reduce the need to deploy officers on the ground since the App will be able to alert officers whenever a vehicle is in violation.
And RTSA Director and Chief Executive officer Gladwell Banda said the agency has continued to transform itself to become a world class and equitable regime of transport management system by leveraging on ICTs to provide smart enforcement, smart education, and smart revenue collection and service delivery.
Mr. Banda also disclosed that RTSA has collected over K441 million as road user charges from January to October this year.
“This will be done with the view that Transport and other logistics procedures, enforcement of rules and regulations are critical in lowering the cost of doing business and ensuring the smooth flow of the supply chain to spar economic growth,” he said.
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