Senegal: 19 deaths in a brand new highway tragedy, the federal government beneath stress

A collision between a bus and a truck killed 19 folks in Senegal on Monday, because the authorities confronted resistance from transporters in opposition to new measures adopted after one other lethal accident only a week earlier.

“Yet one more deadly accident on our roads on the entrance to Ngeun Sarr. 19 human lives misplaced,” tweeted President Macky Sall.

The crash close to Louga (north) additionally left 25 folks injured, Colonel Papa Ange Michel Diatta, a nationwide hearth division official, informed AFP.

On January 8, greater than 40 folks have been killed when two buses collided within the middle of the nation, bringing to mild the well-known issues of the highway in Senegal as in lots of African nations: dilapidated and harmful autos, reckless driving, and widespread corruption amongst officers in control of imposing the legislation or passing driving licenses.

A witness interviewed by the personal radio station RFM reported that on Monday morning the bus swerved to keep away from a donkey, a proof that was not confirmed. Many cattle roam on or close to roads in Senegal.

The January 8 tragedy, blamed on a burst tire, has sparked a wave of criticism in opposition to the authorities for his or her incapacity to implement the foundations of the highway, in addition to laws on the situation of autos.

Within the wake of this accident, one of many deadliest in Senegal lately, the federal government introduced some 20 measures. Many of those measures have been criticized as being unenforceable by transport professionals, the principle folks involved.

The top of state reaffirmed the necessity for them on Twitter. The accident within the north “highlights the necessity to strengthen highway security measures,” he mentioned.

Many professionals have deemed the measures out of step with financial realities or life, for instance, the ban on buses and minibuses travelling at night time, or the ban on importing used tires.

– “Large jam” –

Buses carrying passengers in addition to items are a vital technique of transport between localities, for need of options. Buses are generally transformed to extend capability and fitted with roof racks which can be typically overloaded to the purpose of threatening to deal with.

Not solely do passengers like to hold cumbersome gadgets, however the racks are a supply of further income for transport operators.

Among the transport unions have introduced an indefinite strike beginning Tuesday in protest.

“Regulation of the sector: the State in a giant jam”, was the headline on Monday within the newspaper Le Quotidien.

The authorities rapidly backed down on the ban on equipping buses with baggage racks and granted a one-year exemption.

Another excuse for confrontation between the federal government and transporters, in an inflationary context, costs. Minibus operators have simply introduced a rise of their fares within the Dakar area, arguing that the federal government has not too long ago lower gasoline subsidies and elevated the worth of diesel and tremendous gasoline by 100 CFA francs (15 euro cents).

The federal government refused to simply accept this improve, which it mentioned was unlawful as a result of it had not been authorized by the authorities.

Street accidents formally kill 700 folks every year in Senegal, a rustic of greater than 17 million folks.

In 2019, Senegal had a highway loss of life charge of 24 per 100,000 inhabitants, and sub-Saharan Africa 27 per 100,000, in contrast with a charge of 6 per 100,000 within the European Union and a pair of in Switzerland, based on the World Financial institution.