Reports about some neighbouring countries' roads and traffic handling make for depressing news. Where some years ago these countries' road systems were the yardstick for smooth road travel, today they have become highways to hell, writes Pan Butamire
What used to be tarmacked roads have been
chiselled into what appear as strips and dots of tar, floating on rainy-season
lakes or towering over dry-season gullies. Attempting to navigate them is said
to be a death wish.
Where there is a proliferation of motorised
transport, some four-wheeled and many more two-wheeled, this calls for strict
management if life is to be protected. But if it's every motorist, motorcyclist,
cyclist and pedestrian for themselves, then it's a recipe for disaster.
And if it's true that the traffic police
supposed to organise this haphazard road use are more concerned with pulling a
fast one in favour of their own potbellies, then where is the government in all
this? If a fish starts to rot from the head, what does it mean if not that the
buck should stop with the top government management?
The safety of a country's people on roads (as
everywhere) should be paramount. It's not enough to dazzle with some showy
highways accessible to only a few. The cost of these 'exhibition' highways
should be distributed around to provide peace of mind to all road users.
Every road, walkway, green space, and
anything near a road, should neither be turned into a battlefield for
drivers/riders nor a venue for the survival of the fittest person in the
vicinity.
Should the neighbourhood's safety concern
Rwanda? Every life on earth touches the cord of Rwandans' hearts because of
what they've been through. That's what animates the soul of this land. Examples
are legion and the cases of Libya, Afghanistan, and others, immediately come to
mind. Plus, that of the UK when the tussle is over!
As for roads, Rwandans have so taken some
things for granted that when someone mentions potholes, they throw their heads
back and laugh them (their heads!) off. Take the KN 3 Avenue that leads from
the main Kigali City roundabout to Serena Hotel and on to Kigali Conference and
Exhibition Village.
Can you, in your wildest imagination,
associate KN 3 with potholes?
Interestingly, you may not notice its beauty.
The side walkway that caters for all willing to enjoy it, be they with fit
bodies, with a disability or otherwise, may win over your fancy, forcing you to
park your 'limousine' wherever you may find a parking bay and walk.
If so, be warned! You might perchance espy an
even better, wider and greener walkway to your right that'll blow your mind
away.
Just below KN3 Avenue, you can have your
uninterrupted green and leisurely car-free walk on Imbuga City Walk and, when
tired, sit on a comfy bench, surfing the internet on free Wi-Fi. Moreover, this
will be as you order, from kiosks or restaurants around, whatever drinks or
eats may flatter your palate.
When you happen to look up, take heart. Those
huge raindrops are not part of the authors of the floods and landslides that
have been wrecking regions of our country. They are for lighting your way!
Otherwise, for walkways, you may marvel at
the KG 17 Avenue in front of Amahoro Stadium, Remera, just as you may in
suburban Rusororo, just below the Intare Conference Centre.
But lest we sound as if these pothole-less
roads are confined to Kigali City, travel the road networks that radiate from
there to the different border points of Rwanda and check them out. Provincial
and other satellite cities are also adorned with eye-catching, spacious
sidewalks.
So, Rwanda which was 'chained' all around by
impassable pathways for 'roads' only the other day, 1994, how has she overcome
a problem that has 'strangled' other countries? These are countries that were
handed beautiful highways on a silver platter by colonialism, you know.
A disclaimer, though: Rwandan roads are not
all tarmacked. There are still many marram roads (well-maintained) but you can
be sure that tarmac is hot on their heels. What's important is that they are
all reasonably thumbs up, when it comes to road safety. That's how government
comes in: enforcing road discipline.
Which shouldn't be an impossible task for our
neighbouring countries. Mobilise all the concerned parties on the importance of
maintaining the sanctity of life and enforce and penalise any disrespect for it
and you have as good as licked the problem.
Keep your traffic police disciplined and
sanction any indiscipline heavily. Equip them with the necessary technology to
easily punish unruly drivers/riders and other road users. Line up the roads
with "Sophias", Rwanda's uncompromising speed cameras that catch you
at more than speeding: using wrong lanes, trampling grass lane medians and
more. For drunk driving, there are breathalysers and sundry other measures
against other transgressions to enforce order.
Neighbours, this country's people yearn to
visit. So, push your governments into rendering roads safe!
On a different note, Rwanda remembers how
Mother Nature has dealt her an unfair hand, despite her being a strong partner
in climate protection. We mourn victims of floods and landslides.
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