DELTA Corporation’s fleet covered 16 million kilometres in the financial year as the beverages manufacturer renewed its call for safer roads by rewarding drivers and forklift operators who maintained clean safety records.
The company’s internal fleet accounted for 13 million kilometres, while Delta operators recorded 400 thousand working hours, figures that underline the scale of responsibility carried by its transport and warehouse teams.
The figures were highlighted at the 2026 Delta Driver of the Year Awards at the Delta Driver Training School in Ruwa on Friday, where Vehicle Inspectorate Department (VID) director Allowance Sango praised the company for sustaining the competition since October 1990.
“Safe roads are built with tar and concrete, but safe journeys are built with character,” Sango said.
He said the competition complemented the work of the Ministry of Transport and the VID by promoting responsible behaviour that vehicle inspections and driving licences alone could not guarantee.
“A roadworthy vehicle is only as safe as the person behind the wheel,” he said.
“Inspections can certify a vehicle, but only discipline can certify a driver.”
Sango said the competition’s entry requirements, which include a full year without an accident, telematics violation or disciplinary issue, rewarded the consistency needed to prevent crashes.
He also welcomed Delta’s plans to extend the programme to light motor vehicle drivers, noting that road safety efforts needed to reach beyond heavy commercial vehicles.
The VID director said Zimbabwe’s road crash figures made such initiatives increasingly important. Citing Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency figures, he said more than 15,000 crashes were recorded between April and June 2025, while 624 people died during the quarter.
Sango commended the VID, Zimbabwe Republic Police and Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe for independently assessing drivers at the finals, describing the collaboration between public institutions and the private sector as an effective way to improve standards.
Delta Corporation group treasurer Tumai Mafunga said the competition recognised the people whose work kept the company’s distribution network running.
“More than 450 truck drivers and over 300 forklift operators, backed by our workshops, warehouses and support teams, are the engine of this business,” he said.
“Our trucks carry the Delta name; our drivers and operators carry the Delta promise.”
Mafunga said candidates had to demonstrate safe driving, good vehicle handling, proper asset care and a clean disciplinary record to qualify. The competition then moved through three stages, beginning with practical assessments, followed by theory and practical semi-finals, before the final 15 heavy motor vehicle drivers competed for the main title.
The finals were assessed by the VID, ZRP and Traffic Safety Council, while certified instructors oversaw the forklift operators’ competition. Delta’s Internal Audit Division also reviewed the process.
Mafunga said the company’s investment in driver training, defensive driving and telematics monitoring was part of its wider contribution to road safety, alongside partnerships with public institutions.
“Government has built better roads. It is our duty to put better drivers on them,” Mafunga said.
He urged transport operators to train and reassess drivers, maintain vehicles, manage fatigue and avoid overloading, warning that unsafe driving carried consequences well beyond individual companies.
At the awards, Nkomo Mayedwa of Gwanda, representing the Sorghum division, was named Delta Driver of the Year 2026. Musanzika Kamodza of Harare, from the SBs division, finished second, while Machilika Tozivepi of Mutare, also representing Sorghum, took third place.
Godfrey Ratambwa was the forklift driver of the year.
The event was held under the theme of road safety and responsible driving, with Delta urging its drivers and operators to carry the standards demonstrated in the competition into their daily work.
