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The chaos on the country’s highways and the towns’ Central Business Districts cannot be allowed to continue.

There is anarchy on the country’s roads as well as CBDs of most cities and towns as a result of motorists flagrantly flouting traffic rules and regulations.

This has seen an upsurge in traffic accidents and there is therefore an urgent need for the police to tame this traffic jungle.

Since Operation Restore Legacy, police presence on the country’s highways has been drastically reduced and there is a need for police to be back on the roads in order to restore sanity and prevent accidents.

The Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) handed over all normal day to day policing duties to the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) last November after Operation Restore Legacy.

The ZRP are mandated to maintain Law and Order, Protect and Secure Lives and Property among other responsibilities.

We therefore want to implore the police to move swiftly to address the anarchy on the country’s highways as well as CBDs of most cities and towns in order to reduce accidents.

The police in Bulawayo have noted this deplorable behaviour of motorists and it is our fervent hope that they are working on measures to address the problem.

The Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Precious Simango said there is an upsurge in avoidable traffic accidents as a result of motorists flouting traffic rules and regulations.

“The behaviour and attitude exhibited by public transport operators and private motorists can’t go unchecked,” said inspector Simango.

She said motorists in the city have developed a tendency of driving through red traffic lights, driving against one way roads, parking in the middle of the roads while doing their business and even ignoring danger warning signs such as stop signs and zebra crossings.

There is therefore an urgent need for the police to stop the motorists’ wayward behaviour that is causing unnecessary loss of lives, serious injuries and damages to property.

The police have in the past been accused of corruption, employing heavy handed tactics and other anti-social acts but we want to believe this has since changed following their pledge after Operation Restore Legacy that their operations are now people centred.

“The Zimbabwe Republic Police would want to assure the nation that it will strive to ensure that all operations and programmes are people centred in accordance with the vision of His Excellency the President, Cde Mnangagwa (Emmerson),” said police spokesperson, Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba.

The call for the police to return to the roads is not meant to subject motorists to past demands for bribes but to maintain Law and Order.