BY SAMUEL NJINGA IN MASVINGO.
In a prestigious event held at Flamboyant Hotel in Masvingo on Saturday, the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe honored the nation’s finest drivers in the highly contested 2024 Driver of the Year Award. The competition, which saw 24 participants from several corporate organisations and Government departments from Masvingo region vying for top honors in four different categories, namely: The Bus Category, The Rigid Category, The Kombi Category as well as the Articulated Category. The contestants, who were all veteran drivers, showcased the best of Zimbabwe’s road safety ambassadors.
In the Bus Category, the first-place winner, Tumai Chikaka from the Zimbabwe National Army, walked away with a grand prize of US$500, after demonstrating exceptional skill and adherence to safety standards. In the Rigid Category, another top driver claimed the same top prize of US$500, solidifying their status as one of the country’s best.
Second and third-place winners in both categories didn’t walk away empty-handed. Those who came in second were awarded US$300 each. These were Tatenda Makovere and Alec Munhambi. Makovere who is from the Zimbabwe National Army contested in the Bus Category while Munhambi who is employed by Masimba contested in the Rigid Category. Third-place finishers took home US$200 and these were Tongesayi Mudyiwa employed by Junior High (Bus Category), Vengai Madzimure employed by Masvingo City Council (Rigid Category).
The competition also featured the Articulated Category as well as the Kombi Category whereby drivers showcased their mastery in handling the popular commuter vehicles under strict safety scrutiny. However, some of the employers who had initially indicated their willingness to participate in this historic event could not manage to send their drivers to compete due to extenuating circumstances beyond their control. Only 1 participant for each category participated. The judicators adopted a systematic hypothesis that saw each one of them coming third after compiling and averaging their scores. These were Mukafura Mhaka from the Zimbabwe National Army (Articulated Category) and Pardon Hove who is employed by Kyle School (Kombi Category).
The event, which was a buildup to the National Driver of the Year 2024 Competition, scheduled for 28 and 29 September this year in Bulawayo, is part of the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe’s ongoing efforts to promote road safety and celebrate the outstanding drivers who contribute to reducing accidents on Zimbabwe’s roads.
Organizers of this event hailed it as a great stride in eradicating road carnages.
“The Driver of The Year Competition is a competition that aims at promoting good driving practices and rewarding good driving skills. This competition came into being after realising that a number of road accidents have been happening on our roads. As the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe our aim is to encourage and continuously educate and raise awareness on the dangers of being reckless on the road. In an effort to mitigate these challenges, the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe, came up with a programme of creating fun at the same time educating and rewarding those who would have excelled in these competitions,” said Lucy Kuwandira Mapfumo who is the Media and Corporate Communications Officer for Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe.
Drivers showed not only skill but a deep understanding of road safety principles. The anticipation now shifts to Bulawayo, where the national champions will be crowned later this month.