By Idah Mhetu

MDC leader Nelson Chamisa Saturday blamed government for the Rusape bus accident which claimed 46 people and left more injured.

He was addressing thousands of party followers who thronged his Marondera rally at Rudhaka Stadium.

“Look at our roads. They are now death traps. People are no longer confident with this government,” Chamisa said.

The bus accident, which has since been declared a national disaster, saw a Bolt Cutter and a Smart Express buse collide head-on with the mishap blamed on an overtaking error by one of the drivers.

Chamisa, in his comments, said head-on collisions were characteristic of collapsed economies.

“Government should invest in infrastructure to reduce head-on accidents. In this day and age, we cannot be talking about head-on accidents. Head on accidents only occur in a collapsed economy like this one,” he said.

The opposition leader, who anchored his 2018 election campaign on a pledge to introduce bullet trains, said government should invest in smart roads in order to reduce the road carnage.

“We know drivers also make errors but government must be able to make sure these accidents do not occur. We must have smart roads…and stop talking about head-on accidents,” he said.

Chamisa added, “With a proper government, those people would not have died and we would not have those accidents. The train no longer has a timetable and other transport operators are no longer operating in an orderly manner because there are no more rules on these roads.”

Chamisa also asked his supporters at the rally to observe a minute of silence in memory of those who died in the tragic accident.