The Highway Code will soon be available in the sixteen official local languages; Chewa, Chibarwe, English, Kalanga, Khoisan, Nambya, Ndau, Ndebele, Shangani, Shona, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda and Xhosa (Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 20) Act 2013) The translation process is set to be complete by end of the year.

While this is a great step in the right direction, one has to wonder how non-English speaking Zimbabweans have been managing to take the test in the first place. The Provisional License test has been said to be difficult even for those who speak and understand English with many people having to take it twice or thrice before actually passing it.

If not knowing how to read and write in English was a true barrier then surely all people who cannot write and read in English would not have Zimbabwean driver’s licenses. How have we managed to survive this long as a country without vernacular options to the Highway Code which is a key element to understanding basic road rules?

Moving on… The licensing system will also be extended to a pictorial format to cater for the illiterate. Are we saying that all illiterate people in Zimbabwe have until now been failing to get driver’s licenses? Contrary to popular belief, many people in Zimbabwe can not speak and read English. And quite a number are also illiterate. Yet there are many people in society that cannot speak English but drive…

The post Government and MSU Partner To Make Highway Code Available In Vernacular Languages appeared first on Provoker Magazine.