Thu, 02 Feb 2017 10:21:04 +0000
By KALOBWE BWALYA
MAZHANDU Family Bus Services has with immediate effect been banned from operating following a number of road traffic accidents as a result of non-compliance to safety measures in the past few months.
The Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) has immediately suspended the operating license of Mazhandu Family Bus Services pending investigations into the recent road traffic accidents in which 10 people died near Lwashimba between Kabwe and Kapiri Mposhi area.
RTSA executive director Zindaba Soko said the Agency would not leave the deteriorating road safety records for Mazhandu unchecked and had decided to act in an effort to see change and avoid risking losing more people in road accidents.
Mr Soko said investigations into the cause of the crashes involving the Mazhandu fleet of buses revealed that all accidents occurred after the drivers lost control due to excessive speed.
Speaking at a media briefing in Lusaka yesterday, Mr Soko said the Agency was deeply saddened with the continued loss of lives and injury that had been occasioned by yet another bus belonging to Mazhandu Family Bus Services.
Mr Soko said preliminary investigations relating to the current accident had revealed that Vincent Hangandu, the driver of the fated bus lost control due to over speeding, stating that the bus had to sway into the opposite lane where it collided with the south bound Freightliner truck.
On 30th January, 2017, Mazhandu bus, registration number ALZ 3197 had a road mishap in Kabwe earlier that evening at around 19:00 hours. The driver, however, used the same bus and started off the following day around 05:00 despite assuring the passengers that the company would send another bus to continue with the journey.
“One of the passengers revealed that the bus had a mechanical problem which led to diesel spilling on the tyres. However, the driver and the management of Mazhandu did not attend to this problem and opted to use the same bus with an alleged mechanical fault,” said Mr Soko.
Mr Soko said on 31st of January, 2017, the same bus collided with a Freightliner truck registration number ACM 1160 belonging to Sandhu Transport around 05:40 hours on Great North Road near Lwansimba between Kabwe and Kapiri Mposhi of which nine people died on the spot from both vehicles.
He said the Agency noted with concern the operator had either failed or neglected to address the problem of over speeding in their operations and because of that, the nation had continued to lose lives as a result of accidents that were otherwise preventable.
The Agency on 7th April, 2016 wrote to Mazhandu Bus requesting the company to show cause why the Road Service License (RSL) should not be suspended or revoked after one of their buses registration number ALP 5119 was involved in a road traffic accident along Great North Road in Kapiri Mposhi area with sixty-one passengers on board, five passengers died on the spot and two died afterwards bringing the total number of fatalities to seven,” said Mr Soko.
Mr Soko explained that a road service license might be revoked or suspended in whole or in part or its terms or conditions might be varied by the Director on the ground that any condition subject to which the license or a variation was granted has not been complied with.
He further said provided that the Director shall not revoke, suspend or in terms of this subsection, vary such a license unless owing to the frequency of breach of conditions on the part of the license holder or to the breach having been committed willfully, or to the danger to the public involved in the breach, the Director is satisfied that the license should be revoked.
