The Government is pushing through sweeping legislative changes that will drastically restructure Zimbabwe’s road traffic enforcement by stripping the Vehicle Inspectorate Department (VID) of its highway patrol and inspection powers, and creating a powerful new regulatory authority.

The move, announced by the Minister of Transport, Felix Mhona recently, is aimed at separating functions and enhancing road safety enforcement across the country.

Under the proposed law, the current Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) will be overhauled and transformed into the Road Traffic Safety Authority (also referred to as the Road Traffic Safety Lead Agency), a fully-fledged enforcement body.

Speaking at the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development’s Public Entities Corporate Governance Oversight Meeting in Bulawayo, Minister Mhona stated that the VID will be confined to its core mandate of carrying out vehicle inspections exclusively at its designated depots.

“This will separate functions between the Traffic Safety Authority’s Inspectorate and the VID, which should focus on inspections at the depots,” Minister Mhona said.

The most notable change will see the new Road Traffic Safety Authority’s Inspectorate inheriting the crucial enforcement powers being removed from the VID.

The Authority’s inspectorate will have the power to stop vehicles and institute spot inspections, but must refer vehicles to VID depots for the full inspection required for road worthiness certification.

The Minister emphasised that the legislation will transform the TSCZ from its current role as a traffic-safety promotional body into a comprehensive regulatory and enforcement agency.

“The Ministry is working on a law to transform the TSCZ from being a traffic safety promotional institution to a Road Traffic Safety Authority with the Inspectorate armed with the powers to stop and inspect vehicles, issue tickets, investigate accidents and proffer recommendations to eliminate recurrence and other regulatory powers such as road infrastructure audits and oversight over road authorities,” Minister Mhona confirmed.

The proposed legislation comes as the government aims to address the persistently high rate of road traffic accidents in the country, often attributed to both human error and unroadworthy vehicles.