ZIMBABWE has published new regulations banning the importation of second hand vehicles which are more than five years old, and announcing the country will stop registering left-hand drive cars starting at the end of March next year.
Ministers said the move was designed to ensure public safety as well as protecting the environment and to shore up the local car-making industry.
The Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use) Regulations published by the Transport Ministry in the government gazette of September 17 say in part: "No person shall import any vehicle for registration and use on any road in Zimbabwe if the year of manufacture from the country of origin is more than five years ... Provided that this shall not apply to any motor vehicle registered in Zimbabwe before the 31st of March, 2011."
The regulations also ban the use of tint on car windows as well as making it illegal for drivers of “light vehicles” other than public service transporters to carry more than five passengers "unless a seating width of at least 380 mm and 300 mm is allowed for the driver and every passenger respectively, measured along the rear of such a seat level."
Explaining the move earlier in August, Environment Minister Francis Nhema said: “A majority of these cars have been banned on the roads in their countries of origin. They are being dumped in Zimbabwe and it is up to us to aggressively stand up against exploitation.
“We have a duty to save lives, protect ourselves and our environment.”
Partson Mbiriri, the permanent secretary in the Transport Ministry said “it had become clear” that left hand drive vehicles were “one of the major causes of accidents on the roads”.
The move to ban second hand car imports will hit mainly Japanese car exporters, shipping agents as well as the local car reselling industry, while making car ownership a luxury for many.