Zimbabwe’s Public Transport system is a key element to be considered amid the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
Trains, Buses and Airplanes are our modes of mass public transport and these are mostly overloaded and often unhygienic.
The conditions prevalent in mostly buses, kombis and pirate taxis (mshikashika) can prove to be catalysts during such outbreaks.
Cognisant of this problem, the MDC urges transport operators to sanitise public transport systems to improve the hygiene conditions.
Cleanliness is next to Godliness.
Staff operating these mass transport systems must go through compulsory training on how to keep high standards of hygiene.
Personal Protective Equipment for the crew must be worn appropriately and at all times. Hand sanitizers must be provided in all public transport systems and must be used by travellers.
Disinfectants must be sprayed in the buses and kombis at regular intervals to guard against conditions that promote survival of the coronavirus.
The MDC calls upon private companies to assist in the fight against Coronavirus through facilitating the acquisition of disinfectants and training the operators as well as provision of personal protective equipment for staffers.
The government is for the first time expected to put to good and appropriate use the USD26 million facility availed by the Global Fund in the fight against Covid19.
Zimbabweans remain skeptical as to the capacity of our government to be accountable since other such grants have been abused in the past at the expense of Public Safety.
The MDC family would like to thank President Adv Nelson Chamisa for providing leadership by inspecting the Harare Coronavirus Isolation Centre which is Wilkins Hospital. Leadership at all levels is expected to be alive to the challenges facing our institutions so that practical solutions can be arrived at from an informed position.
The MDC urges those that have been advised to self-quarantine to religiously follow all steps as advised by Health Authorities so as to avoid possible spread of the virus.
Prevention is better than cure and as such we applaud all Health Staffers who are taking all precautionary measures to ensure that the COVID19 pandemic is kept in check.
Hon Settlement Chikwinya. (MP)
National Secretary for Transport and Logistics
