Residents of Migori have expressed fears that the ever increasing accidents on the local roads would finish the lives of the residents if not well addressed soon to curb the vice.
Consequently, they appealed to the Kenya Roads Board to move fast and conduct intense road safety clinics to educate the road users especially the operators of boda boda outfit.
Mr Okelo Onyango, the chairman of the Awendo ‘Bunge la Mwananchi’ led his group in decrying the ever rising road accidents caused by the operators of motorcycle taxis on local roads and in the entire Kenyan roads.
He said road accidents through the now popular means of transport commonly referred to as boda boda were on the increase and some hospitals in the country have been forced to set side special wards for victims of these accidents.
Debating during their normal sessions yesterday, the group declared that it was not too late for the nation to bring sanity back on the roads by educating the riders to embrace strict traffic rules.
“These accidents are not acceptable because they put much economic pressure and unbearable sadness on Kenyans who have been bereaved or had their mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters maimed as a result of these accidents,” said Mr. Onyango.
He added that the accidents could be drastically reduced if all operators observed the laid down traffic rules.
The group regretted that the majority of the boda boda operators lack driving and insurance documents as they plunge into the business fresh from school and have no time to seek training.
They said bad roads are no longer blamed for accidents as the state and county governments had succeeded in improving the existing roads besides constructing new ones.
“We also appeal to the police to step up routine checks on the roads to ensure that no boda boda rider endangered his or her life or the lives of other road users through reckless driving,” noted the chairman
“Even though boda boda taxi business is providing the cheapest means of transport in our rural set ups and has created a massive job opportunity for the youth, on the other hand it has become a monster that is swallowing people at high speed. We must now be extra careful lest we are going to lose a substantial number of our population unnecessarily,” he added.
Meanwhile, the group also delved in condemning chaos that are fast taking root in the ongoing Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) campaigns saying they are not good for the country’s stability.
They said the state must now take a hard stance on politicians inciting Kenyans against each other and those using the youth to cause mayhem at rallies and funerals in the name of defending their preferred candidates.
Mr Onyango urged the proponents of and those against the BBI to tone down their attacks against each other for the sake of the nation’s unity and development, suggesting that there was need for round table talks and consensus to be reached instead of unnecessary cut-throat competitions.
By George Agimba
