By Meditation Mposi
A Junior High School bus driver has raised the flag of the school high after he qualified for the national drivers’ competitions to be held in Bulawayo.
He qualified after being recognized as one of the best drivers in Masvingo Province’s 2024 edition of Driver Of The Year competitions hosted by Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe (TSCZ) on September 14 at Flamboyant Hotel.
55-year-old Tongesai Mudyiwa who secured third position in the bus category said he was expecting victory ahead of national competitions to be held in Bulawayo next week.
Drivers who participated during the provincial competitions and managed to secure positions one to three in different provinces in different categories are to participate in the nationals in Bulawayo.
“Though it is my first time to participate in this competition l have hope that l will bring a medal back home and proceed to the internationals to be held next year in Germany,” said Mudyiwa.
Mudyiwa said the competitions empowered drivers with knowledge and skills hence it was important for drivers to take part.
“I am happy to participate in these competitions because they improve our driving skills and knowledge. There are some driving skills that we learn and some errors that we correct during these competitions. I encourage other drivers to participate in these competitions—one might not win but there is a lot to learn,” said Mudyiwa.
Mudyiwa has been working with Junior Investments since 2015.
Various entities participated, including the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), Zimbabwe Electricity Supply (ZESA), Masvingo City Council, various schools across Masvingo, including Junior High School, Kyle College and St Don Bosco among others.
There were four categories which were the Bus category, Rigid category, Kombi category and Articulated category.
Tumai Chikaka and Tatenda Makovere from ZNA secured positions one and two respectively in the bus category while Mudyiwa secured third position.
TSCZ holds the driver of the competitions as a way of standardizing and improving driving. The competitions serve as a benchmark to check whether drivers know the basic rules of driving and how to apply them.
The competition was last held in 2018 due to disruptions by Covid-19 induced lockdowns.
