Malawi Traffic Information System being upgraded
Government says it is upgrading the Malawi Traffic Information System (Maltis) to close some gaps which compromise road safety issues in the country.
Minister of transport and public works Francis Kasaila made the remarks in Blantyre on Sunday during commemoration of African Road safety Day and launch of the 2015-2020 National Road Safety Strategy.
He said the Ministry, through the Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services (DRTSS), is also making innovations like the development of the driver training handbook, vehicle inspection manual and traffic law enforcement manual to reduce road accidents.
“I therefore call upon the corporate world to partner with us by providing financial and technical support in order to ensure smooth implementation of these initiatives which are aimed at reducing road accidents and improve post crash management of all accident victims and thus reducing severity of the victims,” said Kasaila.
Director for DRTSS, Jacques Manong’a said they are in the process of identifying suitable and well qualified private garages and motor vehicle dealers to take up the process of vehicle inspection for issuance of the certificate of fitness (COF).
“We realize that we cannot satisfy the ever increasing vehicle population as we only have four vehicle inspection stations in Mzuzu, Zomba, Blantyre and Lilongwe. The number of vehicles is 250,000,” he said.
Manong’a also urged the directorate’s staff to desist from corruption, saying it compromises service delivery.
According to Manong’a, between 10 and 15 people lost lives per every four accidents.
