Emergency response services: We can do better

Wednesday morning’s macabre accident at Nkumba University traffic lights on Entebbe Road that saw the driver of a cement mixer lose control, fail to brake and in the process overturning onto another vehicle crashing lawyer, Raphael Okiot, reminded us that life is indeed fleeting. 

One moment you are here, the next, you are gone. This is not the first freak road crash and sadly, it will not be the last but even in the midst of this sad truth, there are lessons to learn, shortcomings to point out and correct. 
One is the need for better emergency response services. How equipped are we to efficiently deal with the aftermath of such an  occurrence?
It is in the same breath that the shadow minister for works and transport, Mr Francis Mwijukye, asked police to respond to emergencies such as road crashes with speed.  According to witnesses at the aforementioned accident scene, emergency responders delayed to arrive at the scene. 

A number of reasons have been given by police to try and explain the delay but is this the first time such delays have been witnessed? The answer to that is a resounding no. Swift and efficient emergency response is key, it could be the difference between saving a life and losing one or simply affording the deceased some decency and the bereaved, less trauma.  
We, therefore, should work on having better services instead of always explaining ourselves away. And we need not wait for another freak accident to occur before the subject is brought up again.

On a somewhat related topic, the day before the said accident happened, we had reported that details of the budget Framework paper for 2024/2025 financial year reveal a disturbing lack of funding for road safety initiatives. 
During a meeting advocating for proper road safety funding, Mr Robert Kasolo MP for Iki Iki county and representative of the parliamentary forum for Road and water safety committee warned that zero funding for road safety could lead to a significant increase in road crashes in the country.

At the same meeting, Mr Edward Kizito, senior road safety officer at the Ministry of Works and Transport outlined some of the critical road safety activities currently facing funding shortfalls. Taking over vehicle inspections from SGS, commercial vehicle licensing, driver testing automation, and nationwide road safety awareness campaigns.

According to the Uganda Police annual crime report, the number of reported incidents of road crashes increased by 16 percent from 20,394 in 2022 to 22,608 in 2023.
We need to put our priorities right. Issues like road safety and emergency response should not be given a backseat.