James Hall MBABANE - The expanding road network Swaziland has enjoyed in the past ten years has come at the price of significantly higher road accidents and fatalities. Since 1993, the year before the first phase of the M2 national highway connecting Mbabane with the Matsapha Industrial Estate and the central commercial city Manzini was opened, to 2003, traffic accidents have risen 70% Only 1256 road injuries both serious and minor occurred in 1993, compared to 4267 reported thus far this year, according to the Swaziland Road Safety Council. “Swazis tend to follow the example of South African and Mozambican drivers who are speeding through the kingdom and generally disobeying traffic rules,” a source at the council said. However, Evart Madlopa, Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Transportation, blames the sharp rise in the number of motor vehicles. “There has been a correlation between the proliferation of cars and trucks and the expansion of the road infrastructure, particularly since the completion of the Mbabane-Manzini dual carriageway five years ago,” Madlopa said. Most road accident victims are pedestrians. The Road Safety Council is planning a campaign to discourage Swazis from using highway shoulders as footpaths.
