Government decrees national mourning for death of 28 persons in Zambézia crash

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Government decrees national mourning for death of 28 persons in Zambézia crash

3:47 CAT | 26 Jan 2022

Photo: O País

The government has decreed two days of national mourning – the 27th and 28th of this month – for the death of 28 persons in a crash on Saturday in Mopeia, Zambézia.

An investigation set up and initially suggesting excessive speed and irregular overtaking as the primary causes of the fatal accident should present definitive results within 15 days.

The national mourning was decreed yesterday in the Council of Ministers session, four days after the fatal accident.

“During the period of national mourning, the national flag and the presidential pavilion will be hoisted at half-mast throughout the national territory and in the diplomatic and consular missions of the Republic of Mozambique,” announced Council of Ministers spokesman Inocêncio Impissa.

On the same occasion, Minister of Transport and Communication Janfar Abdulai explained what is being done to clarify the causes of the accident. In the interim, the multi-sectoral team comprising employees from the National Institute of Road Transport, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Public Works, presented preliminary results of the causes of the accident.

“In addition to the capacity of one of the vehicles, there was an excess of speed and a vehicle was in the opposite lane during irregular overtaking,” Abdulai said.

And with the preliminary result pointing to speeding as one of the causes, Janfar Abdulai says that measures are taken to better control vehicles on the roads.

“We believe that this issue of speed has been recurrent. As a result, we will introduce a travel control form, which will allow us to know how long a particular vehicle takes [to get] from one point to another,” Abdulai said.

“We are also concerned about the mechanical condition of vehicles. And because it is the competence of the regulator, we are working to assess the extent to which inspection points have been carried out, because it gives an indication that some inspection points have not carried out their activity competently.”

Regarding support for the families of the fatal victims, announcements varied, with the provincial governor saying that help was available and the targeted families denying it.

The transport minister had his own version, saying: “We have to give an account of what happened, from the local government; the governor of Zambézia province has shown willingness to support families.”

Read: Mozambique: Death toll from Zambezia traffic accident now 28 – AIM

At the Council of Ministers session on Tuesday, the government approved decrees on the rules for the organization and functioning of court support services, which deal with jurisdictional and administrative matters. It also decided to amend Article 30 of the regulation of the Law on the National Education System, with a view to assigning powers to the sector minister to define standards for teacher training and criteria for opening and closing teacher training establishments.

By José João

Watch the TVM report.