| TANROADS Principal Sociologist Gibson Mwaya making an introduction to occupational health and safety, risk identification, assessment and control in the work place during the training workshop on road safety, environmental and social management to TANROADS employees held in Iringa region yesterday. (Photo by Friday Simbaya) |
The road safety situation in the country has not been good and thus cost the lives of the people hence disability and deaths, it has been discovered.
This was commented yesterday by Iringa District Commissioner Richard Kasesela during the training workshop on road safety, environmental and social management for Tanroads personnel which taking place in Iringa region.
The four-day training is to promote and building capacity to TANROADS staff in challenging challenges while implementing road projects.
The DC on behalf of Iringa Regional Commissioner Amina Masenza, said that in order to reduce the problems they should provide road safety education to the public and even to its employees in identifying vulnerable areas.
He said that some of the causes of the accidents include human mistakes that contribute to 80 percent; bad road condition contributes to 8 percent and motor vehicles that no roadworthy contribute to 12 percent respectively.
Kasesela mentioned the major sources of accidents of careless driving including over speeding, , overtaking by passing the vehicle on the mountain or a corner, not to respect road traffic not to comply with the road traffic law, the lack of road signs that were stolen or hit by vehicles and no drawings on the road.
In terms of environmental management, he also said that the situation is not very good because many stakeholders have been unaware of the current importance of environmental management in implementing road projects.
"It is very often a contractor to dig stones for road construction and leave the holes without refilling to reduce the potential effects," said DC Kasesela.
In addition, when you visit our roads you will find various garbage on road thrown by travelers and sometimes travelers to help themselves road sides locally known as 'digging medicine,' he said.
He noted that although there are many environmental management problems in implementing road projects, TANROADS specialists need to develop strategies to reduce them.
In social issues there have been HIV / AIDS challenges, safety and health at workplace and removing of people from road reserves.
Kasesela said that such challenges would not be effective in bringing about a significant impact on the community in the implementation of road projects.
In turn, the head of safety and environment department and security TANROADS headquarters Zafarani Madayi said that training is a common procedure that TANROADS have set every year.
She said the main focus of these annual workshops is to create an extension for his staff in managing and implementing environmental, social and safety issues.
Madayi said that the issues of road safety, environment and social management are crosscutting in the implementation of road projects in regional and in the country respectively.
She said that the training was usually provided in the zones and is now southern highlands zone where the Iringa region is a host.
The Madayi added that the workshop has included members from TANROADS headquarters and in all 26 regions offices in the country.
The participants are specialists in TANROADS involved in environmental issues, road safety, social / AIDS, architecture, construction and road announcements, calculations, human resources, drivers, and other specialists.
In another development, TANROADS Principal Sociologist Gibson Mwaya said their more than two million people worldwide die each year following a work accident of occupational diseases based on international labour organization (ILO).
Mwaya who was one of the facilitators during the training workshop for road safety, environmental and social management for TANROADS employees, said that in developing countries including Tanzania the risk is 10 -20 times higher, adding on to problem is high prevalence rate and incidences of HIV/AIDS. By Friday Simbaya, Iringa
