One of the bus companies whose vehicle was involved in a horror crash that claimed 11 lives at weekend is yet to submit its passenger insurance certificate amid fears that it is operating without the document, NewsDay has learnt.A Blue Circle cross-border bus collided with a City bus 10 kilometres outside Beitbridge on Saturday, killing seven people on the spot and four others on admission to hospital.Acting commanding officer for Beitbridge police Superintendent Philisani Ndebele said so far they had only received an insurance certificate for the City bus.“Information at hand indicates that management at Blue Circle have not produced insurance, City Bus have," Ndebele said.Efforts to get a comment from Blue Circle director Roy Gonyora were fruitless as he was not responding to questions sent to him via Whatsapp.Passenger insurance cover is a statutory requirement for all public passenger -carrying vehicles, and should be submitted to police and other law enforcement agencies shortly after an accident.Beitbridge lawyer Patrick Tererai of Tererai Legal Practice said in the absence of an insurance cover, a bus operator will be compelled by the courts to compensate for damage to property, injuries and loss of lives.
A recent survey by the Passengers Association of Zimbabwe revealed that most bus operators are capitalizing on authorities’ laxity in enforcing the law.
