FRANCISTOWN: Nata/Gweta legislator, Polson Majaga has spoken out for the first time since an accident that claimed 22 lives along the A3 Road.

Several major villages in his constituency are along the A3. The accident occurred on Thursday morning, just near Marapong village. A sprinter heading to Maun from Francistown collided with a truck that was going in the opposite direction. Of the 22 people who died, 12 were men while the rest were women. Twenty-one of those who died were in the sprinter.

The other deceased person is a truck driver who was en route to South Africa from Zambia. The accident comes just less than a year after another one claimed 16 lives along the A3, near Hubona.

The Hubona accident involved two mini-buses and a Toyota Dyna. Over 40 people have died on the A3 since the Hubona accident in July last year. The accidents have largely been attributed to the appalling state of the road.

For over 10 years, Majaga has been pushing the government to prioritise reconstructing the road to no avail. On Friday, the legislator could not contain his pain and frustration at the growing number of accidents on the A3.

“I feel broken. I really feel let down by the government. The reconstruction of the road could have long been prioritised. I somehow feel vindicated because I long warned that the road is a death trap. There might have been some factors that contributed to the accident, but it is evident that the poor state of the road played a significant part,” he said.

Majaga has now embarked on a fasting period of five days as a way of honouring the deceased.

“I started fasting after visiting the scene of the accident on Thursday. We are losing many lives on the A3. The situation is unbearable,” he said.

In her budget speech early this year, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development Peggy Serame said the construction of the A3 Road, which is considered to be amongst the busiest in the country, will start during the 20232024 financial year. The road serves as a gateway to tourist areas such as Chobe and the North West. It is also used by trucks transporting goods between Zambia, Namibia and the DRC.

In his assessment, Majaga does not believe that the project will take off soon.

“Funds for the project have been availed but there is nothing on the ground suggesting that the project will start soon. This accident should serve as a clarion call to government to expedite the construction of the road. I will relentlessly fight for the construction of the road to be sped up,” he said.

For his part, Minister of Transport and Public Works, Eric Molale was also non-committal when asked when the construction of the road is anticipated to begin. Molale could only say that the procurement process is ongoing and once complete the project will start. Some years ago, the government announced that the road will be constructed through a concessional loan from the Chinese government. The government later abandoned plans to obtain the loan and said that it was exploring executing the project through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). The PPP plan was also later abandoned. Until Serame’s announcement during the budget speech early this year, government maintained that there are no funds to construct the road. Meanwhile, Molale visited the scene of the accident on Friday and promised that an investigation on the exact cause of the accident will be done and availed timely.

I feel broken. I really feel let down by the government. The reconstruction of the road could have long been prioritised