By Staff Reporter
The Municipality of Redcliff has acknowledged the growing safety concerns over the Redcliff Turn-off, which has increasingly become a high accident zone, with reports of crashes occurring almost every two weeks.
Speaking during the Municipality’s 2026 budget consultation meeting with corporates, Redcliff businessman Lamulavi Sithole raised alarm over the road’s worsening safety record, describing it as a “death trap” for motorists.
“That turn-off has become a death trap. Statistically, on average, every two weeks we have an accident. It’s no longer safe, especially for motorists unfamiliar with the area,” Sithole said. “We want our cities to grow, but not at the cost of human life.”
In response, Municipal Engineer Thembani Kundlande clarified that the problematic road does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Municipality of Redcliff but under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development.
“That road is not ours. We’ve been engaging the Minister of Transport,” Kundlande explained. “We even asked Zhongjin International Hotel to assist, and they bought traffic lights, but unfortunately, the lights they acquired were not the correct type.”
Engineer Kundlande said the municipality, together with the Transport Ministry and the hotel management, is working to find a permanent solution to the traffic safety challenges at the turn-off.
“We are still engaging the Minister of Transport to see a lasting solution. I was there yesterday with the hotel team discussing that issue. We are supposed to meet again soon to finalise the way forward,” he added.
The Redcliff Turn-off, which links the town to the Harare–Bulawayo highway, has become a critical traffic node amid the area’s rapid industrial and urban expansion. Local stakeholders have called for urgent intervention to improve signage, road markings, and traffic control systems before more lives are lost.
