Transist, the transit assistance bureau launched by the Federation of East and Southern African Road Transport Associations, has sent out a notification that the road between Kafue and Mazubuka south west of Lusaka has become impassable.
In content circulated via Transist’s Whatsapp group, trucks and buses can be seen queueing up for kilometres in what appears to be a deteriorating stretch of mud.
A video clip, presumably recorded by a truck driver, says: “The road is closed. It’s slippery and trucks are falling victim to crime. We are stuck here. There’s no movement.”
The weather-related stoppage of freight passing between Livingstone and the Zambian capital comes mere days after authorities and wildcat strikers clashed over transport-related issues.
Although Zambian police were quick to rise to the occasion, arresting activists and restoring order in less than 48 hours, the important linkage from Lusaka to Zambia’s border with Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe could take longer to resolve.
As a reliable source working in the Zambian transport industry recently said: “Once the rainy season starts the roads around here tend to turn into a mess.”
With dark rain clouds clearly visible in the Whatsapp footage shared with FTWOnline, it seems clear why he has reason to feel that way. – Eugene Goddard
