* Ashraful Aid enhances road safety by donating reflective vests to kabaza operators for Kabaza operators
* Kabaza is an essential means of transport, just like any other, and operators must protect themselves to ensure the safety of their passengers
By Agatha Kadzinje, MANA
Blantyre Police’s urban traffic officer, Superintendent Cassim Symone highlights that most accidents involving motorcycle taxi (kabaza) operators are avoidable and are often caused by their failure to follow road safety rules.
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He said this when Ashraful Aid International Humanitarian Organisation donated 1,000 reflective vests and 3,000 reflector tapes to Kabaza operators, an initiative designed to intensify road safety measures to help minimise accidents and ensure safer rides during this festive season and beyond.
The beneficiary kabaza operators were from Makhetha, Kameza, Ndirande, Limbe Central, Chirimba, Kapeni, Bvumbwe, Soche, Mpemba, Mbayani, Bangwe and Njamba ranks.
“Many accidents occur because Kabaza operators speed unnecessarily and lack the proper safety gear, making them avoid traffic police,” Symone said. “Operators must prioritise road safety for their own good and the safety of others.”
He urged kabaza operators to register their motorcycles with the police to enhance recognition and facilitate assistance in case of accidents or other issues.
“Registration should be a priority for anyone starting a motorcycle business. It not only provides an identification record but also aids in insurance claims in case of accidents,” Symone said, while applauding Ashraful Aids’ initiative, expressing hope that the provision of safety gear would help reduce road accidents in Blantyre.
“We expect operators to wear the safety gear provided, including helmets for both themselves and their passengers,” he emphasised.
Ashraful Aids Country Director, Abbas Panjwani
On his part, Ashraful Aids Country Director, Abbas Panjwani emphasised the importance of using safety gear to reduce accidents, saying Kabaza is an essential means of transport, just like any other, and operators must protect themselves to ensure the safety of their passengers.
“In recent years, Kabaza has become increasingly popular among Malawians, especially during festive seasons,” he said. “Therefore, ensuring the safety of operators is crucial to saving precious lives.”
Panjwani encouraged the kabaza operators to not just keep the vests but should make them part of their uniform.
He disclosed that Ashraful Aid has partnered with Quarry King, Easy Pack Limited, Build Africa, Speed Courier, and Hisco to implement this initiative.
Meanwhile, one of the Kabaza operators, Jones Steven, while expressing their gratitude for the donation, condemned the behaviour of drinking and smoking while on duty, emphasising that such actions compromise safety on the roads.
He alao took note that the reflective vests would help reduce incidents of robbery and accidents: “I encourage my fellow operators to report accidents to their rank chairpersons and the police for effective assistance during and after the festive season,” Steven said.
He also called on the government to reconsider the high fees for registration and insurance, pointing out that many operators do not own the motorcycles they use and cannot afford these costs with their current earnings.
Some kabaza operators have been identified as aiding robbers at night by taking them, knowingly or unknowingly, to sites they intended to rob.
In November, regional community policing coordinator for the South-West Region Police, Superintendent Memory Mgeni warned Kabaza operators to avoid operating at night as they sometimes aid criminals.
She this during an awareness campaign on road safety following frequent road accidents in which kabaza operators are involved in — an activity that was organised by Malawi Coalition for Kabaza Stakeholders Association (MACOKASA).
Mgeni said the police were happy with MACOKASA’s initiative and expressed hope that the awareness campaign will help to remind Kabaza operators about traffic rules and regulations to protect their lives, passengers and other road users’ lives.
As the police, she advised the kabaza operators that operating at at odd hours put their life at risk of being attacked by robbers that pretend to be bonafide passengers, saying: “Investigations are showing that some kabaza operators are fond of doing business during odd hours which leads to theft of their motorcycles, sustaining severe injuries and even loss of life.
“They are enticed with huge sums of money to carry a person at odd hours not knowing that the person is a criminal,” she had said.—Additional reporting by Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express
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