By Mthoniswa Banda
Now that Lusaka has confirmed the presence of the novel Corona virus, the Zambian Roads & Highway Safety Group (ZRHSG) is urging the Zambian Government to consider sanitizing the mini bus transportation system in the country.
The Zambian Roads and Highway Safety Group is aware that minibuses have for a long time been squeezing five passengers per seat (known as five –five) instead of 3 passengers per seat. These minibuses are also poorly ventilated with most windows not designed for opening. This means that passengers are in close proximity and contact of one another and breathe in the same corrupt air. If one sick passenger sneezes in the bus, the chances of the entire bus getting the corona virus are very high.
The Zambian Roads and Highway Safety Group is also aware that most of these buses are often cleaned using water drawn from all sorts of sources including ponds and streams around Lusaka. Their levels of hygiene are very low as compared to the acceptable standards and requirements of cleanliness to prevent and defeat the corona virus.
The Zambian Roads and Highway Safety Group is therefore appealing to the Ministries of Health (MoH) and Communications and Transport, working with relevant stakeholders in the public transportation sector such as bus owners, public transport groups and road safety agencies to find a way of cleaning up and sanitizing these minibuses so that they are germ and virus free before and after every trip.
We are also appealing for these small buses to be compelled to carry less passengers in compliance with social distancing among strangers and for them to have hand sanitizers at hand for use by passengers on demand.
We are also calling on health officials to quickly disinfect all bus stations and buses to prevent the Corona virus from landing into our compounds.
To passengers feeling and showing signs of Corona virus (flu, headache, fever and cough), please avoid use of mini buses and call for an ambulance to transport you to the nearest health corona centre.
Let us be road smart and defeat the corona virus on our roads and transportation system. Every day without any road death is possible and every Zambian life matters.
Very well put, excellent points but for our bus operators to follow these guidelines I doubt, even with roadblocks we still have over loading, our bus operators, minibus conductors and drivers are greedy people who only care about filling their bellies at any cost, this is symptomatic of the mindset of “get rich at any cost” most Zambians have adopted. We need stiff penalties such as removing bus operating licenses for those found overloading and not following these guidelines, Corona Virus is a life and death situation and we can’t be put to risk by these greedy thugs.
Start cleaning you lazy bastards. You want PF government to clean your minibuses???
Don’t kill people this time, coronavirus is different from gassing.
Gassing never killed anybody, but you killed innocent suspects.
Coronavirus is real, mulepwa fi PF because of your “Interaction Forum” and “Bill 10 gatherings” .
For starters let’s keep calm as we extrapolate on how to go about this covid issue…..start with tracing all passengers on board the Emirates flight where those covid flaggers where, we are told the ministry is keeping register of their addresses and contacts as people enter borders…..trace them, and the people they have been in contact with from the time they landed to date…all including their janitors, maids and garden boys…..coz if you ask me these l people are at risk….then from there it’s a multiplier effect……by the way are health centers going affect these people or what means are these people using to get to the centers?????
Track every air stewardess, pilot, their girlfriends, mistresses, relatives and any restaurants the stopped at. No pebble should be left unturned. May the Good lord Jesus heal and protect Zambia and Africa. Also wisdom and health professionals should be on high work mode; Instill national service to help keep people to a five person meeting only. Stay sanitized and clean Zambians.
Especially Rosa buses that like to overload 5 people where 4 are supposed to seat and 4 people where 3 are supposed to seat. This has to stop I don’t know why this vice has been allowed to carry on when there are police posts at every bus station.
If developed countries are failing
To handle coronavirus then what
About countries like zambia?We
Must just pray otherwise we are
Already squeezed from all sides.
All public transport in the world is risk. Gives us solutions rather than just pointing at the problem.
It is your duty to come up with solutions hello
Did you even read the article? The author clearly says to sanitize the minu buses as one solution and the other is the advice that mini bus operators ought to reduce the number of passengers as well as advice to people feelign unwell not to use mini buses?
So the onus to effect those solutions lies with the bus operators tefyo?
This beautiful country of ours with splendid advisors such as KZ is doomed. We do not have the financial capacity to fight this virus. Why, because the likes of KZ harvested everything mwibala! Just like ECL said “ubomba mwibala….” Ati, we have people at port of entries, said the wise adviser (former lab technician from Chelston clinic)- why were people on that flight that disembarked in Lusaka not given orders to self isolate immediately? They should have been taken to their homes in one bus by people in protective clothing. That diploma gives you more knowledge than most of us. Why did you not advise that?!?
Blame RATSA for overloading and here’s why;
Take a ROSA bus for example with an approved manufacturer seating capacity of 26 if has mini fridge or 28 if doesn’t. On either of the two RATSA will add +2 seats on the vehicle registration, meaning if it’s going to be a PSV it will seat an extra passenger at the back and another at the seat exactly opposite the passenger door. The back seat is ideal for 4 persons and the one opposite the passenger door 3 persons.
When a given bus reaches a checkpoint mounted by RATSA, RATSA won’t do anything because the overloading is sanctioned by them – so to speak.
Comment:let the arm take charge
In Zambia may corona virus consume only those that are working against the wishes of the people of Zambia.
LETS JUST PRAY HARD TO GOD
People should also stop spitting and blowing their noises (Ukufyona ifimina) on the streets. I find this pathetic. Imagine someone blows their nose with a hand and extends the same hand to shake and embrace you as a brother or sister. This must change.
Controls on the number of passengers allowed per seat row is easily monitored by police check points along roads in the city. Can those bus boys that ride along in the bus be taught to spray the bus with Dettol virus kill spray every few points along the route? People can just hold their noses until the spray settles………. desperate measures!
It’s unfortunate that Zambian social principles are violate d by law inforcers RATSA and the police, are a wonder and corrupt. Buses now pack just along roads government has constructed like along lumumba whilst policemen interact there. Bring in soldiers to standardies road safety. Temporarily close movements to clean bus statons and markets. Let police help develop order on the road.
I hate these silly buses. People are packed like sardines and are positioned very close together. Movement space is very limited and tell me what we have gained after attending INDEPEDENCE. We are not a country of poets and thinkers.