The Mozambican Minister of Transport and Communications, Mateus Magala, acknowledged that the fight against road accidents has made it possible to reduce the number of deaths by 20% in two years, but that more needs to be done to put an end to ‘terrorism on the road’, Lusa reported this Friday, 20 December.
‘In 2021, before the start of this reform movement, 944 people lost their lives as a result of road accidents, compared to 754 in 2023, which corresponds to a reduction of around 20 per cent,’ said the minister at the opening of the ministry’s 42nd coordinating council in Maputo.
Mateus Magala recalled that, at the time, there was a ‘progressive increase in road accident rates’ in the country, which needed to be halted, so, as a ‘result of the measures we have been implementing, we can see, with some satisfaction, that road safety rates are improving somewhat, although far less than desired.’
He also emphasised that ‘despite these relatively encouraging results, the sector remains concerned about the high number of human losses that continue to be recorded.’
Taking advantage of the meeting of officials from the various sectors of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Mateus Magala called on them to ‘contribute concrete solutions to speed up the fight against this scourge, which amounts to real road terrorism.’
On 7 December, the Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi, called for ‘prudence’ on the road and ‘respect for traffic rules’, following yet another serious road accident in the country which, the previous day, had caused 15 deaths in Inhambane province, the latest of several serious accidents in Mozambican this year.
‘In the face of this tragedy, we want to reinforce the need for caution and respect for traffic rules. We call on all drivers to help prevent such devastating tragedies as the one that took place in Morrumbene,’ said the head of state.
