Safaricom, media launch road safety trust

MOBILE

Safaricom, has partnered with the Media Owners Association (MOA) to form the National Road Safety Trust in Kenya.

The Trust will spearhead a countrywide road safety initiative to address the alarmingly high rates of road carnage, with dedicated print and electronic coverage for the campaign.

The trust brings together government, private sector and civil society in a collaborative endeavour to address various factors that have contributed to increased incidences of traffic related injuries and fatalities.

During a stakeholder workshop to discuss a roadmap for the Trust, the campaign champions announced that they are planning a formal launch later in the month and that they have requested the President to serve as the Trust’s patron.

A nine member Board of Trustees  comprising representatives from Safaricom, the Media Owners Association, the police, the government, various road safety stakeholders,  and other private sector players will coordinate the activities of the Trust  with Trustees holding  office for a 2 year renewable tenure.

The National Road Safety Trust objectives include advocating for sound road safety behaviour and initiating sustainable road safety and traffic campaigns alongside advancing road safety educational programme.

Safaricom CEO and Trust Co-Founder, Bob Collymore noted that despite a rise in the number of road accidents, not enough has been done to address the problem, “Road accidents claim 10 people a day, yet we are not giving this problem the same focus as we give terror related activities that kill 30-40 annually.”

“One of the most powerful legacies of this government is infrastructural development. Kenyans however lack the requisite education on how to deal with the same infrastructure. Public education and awareness creation will therefore play a big role in mitigating the rising cases of road accidents particularly on the Thika Super Highway,” said Kiprono Kittony, Media Owners Association.

The Media Owners Association, a key partner in this initiative, have committed dedicated print and electronic coverage for the duration of the campaign as support for the Road Safety initiative. Wachira Waruru an MOA official said, “This is a matter of life and death and we therefore need to embrace this intervention in order to save lives. On behalf of the Media Owners Association, I would like to assure you that we will deploy all our resources in order to make this campaign a success.”