30. Interpretation in Part V
In this Part:
“designated Member State” means a Member State which has been declared to be a designated Member State in terms of section thirty-two;
“Member State” means a State which is a contracting party to the P.T.A. Treaty;
“National Bureau of Zimbabwe” means the National Bureau of Zimbabwe referred to in section thirty-one;
“Protocol” means the Protocol on Third Party Insurance which was signed on the 3rd December, 1986, by Member States and which forms part of the P.T.A. Treaty as Annexure XIV;
“P.T.A. Treaty” means the treaty for the establishment of the Preferential Trade Area concluded in Lusaka on the 21st December, 1981;
“yellow card” means a yellow card insurance policy issued in a designated Member State in connection with third party insurance cover envisaged by the Protocol.
31. Designation of National Bureau of Zimbabwe
The Insurance Council of Zimbabwe is hereby designated as the National Bureau of Zimbabwe for the purposes of the Protocol and for the purposes of this Part.
32. President may declare certain countries to be designated Member States
(1) Where the President is satisfied that a Member State has made satisfactory arrangements for giving effect to the Protocol in its territory, he may by statutory instrument declare such Member State to be a designated Member State.
(2) The President may, by statutory instrument, amend or revoke any declaration made in terms of subsection (1).
33. Use of motor vehicles or trailers covered by yellow card
(1) Subject to subsection (2), a person may use on a road a motor vehicle or trailer in respect of which no policy of insurance or security is in force as provided in section twenty-two, if a yellow card is in force in relation to the use of the motor vehicle or trailer in Zimbabwe.
(2) A person shall not use a motor vehicle or trailer on a road in accordance with subsection (1) unless the certificate issued in connection with the yellow card insurance cover concerned is being carried in the vehicle or trailer concerned at the time of such use.
(3) Any person who contravenes subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level four or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
[Subsection amended by section 4 of Act 22 of 2001.]
34. Cover provided by yellow card: liability of National Bureau of Zimbabwe to third parties
(1) Subject to this Part, the National Bureau of Zimbabwe shall be obliged to compensate any person for any loss or damage which that person has suffered as a result of:
(a) any bodily injury to himself; or
(b) the death of or bodily injury to any other person;
caused by or arising out of the use of a motor vehicle or trailer on a road if:
(i) a yellow card is in force in relation to the use of the motor vehicle or trailer in Zimbabwe; and
(ii) the injury or death arises out of the negligence or other unlawful act of the person who used the motor vehicle or trailer concerned.
(2) The National Bureau of Zimbabwe shall not be liable in terms of subsection (1) in respect of the death of or bodily injury to a person in the employ of any person to whom the yellow card was issued if such death or bodily injury arises out of and in the course of his employment.
(3) In the case of a motor vehicle or trailer in which passengers are carried for hire or reward or by reason or in pursuance of a contract of employment, the liability of the National Bureau of Zimbabwe in terms of subsection (1), in respect of the death or bodily injury to persons being carried in or on or entering or getting on to or alighting from such motor vehicle or trailer at the time of the occurrence of the event out of which the claims arise, shall be limited to an amount not exceeding:
(a) twenty thousand dollars in respect of any one such person killed or injured; or
(b) two hundred thousand dollars in respect of any one accident or series of accidents due to or arising out of the occurrence of any one such event.
(4) The National Bureau of Zimbabwe shall not be liable in terms of subsection (1) in respect of the death of or injury to:
(a) the driver of the vehicle concerned; or
(b) except in the case of a motor vehicle or tractor referred to in subsection (3), persons being carried in or on or entering or getting on to or alighting from the motor vehicle or tractor concerned;
at the time of the occurrence of the event out of which the claim arises.
35. Right of recourse
Whenever the National Bureau of Zimbabwe has paid any compensation to any person in terms of section thirty-four, it shall have a right to recover the amount of the compensation it has paid from any person whose negligence or other unlawful act caused the death or injury in respect of which the compensation was paid:
Provided that the right of recovery provided for in this section shall not apply in relation to any person who is indemnified by the yellow card insurance cover, to the extent of such indemnification.
36. Claim for compensation
(1) A person who has a claim against the National Bureau of Zimbabwe in respect of any liability referred to in section thirty-four shall be entitled:
(a) in his own name to recover from the National Bureau of Zimbabwe any amount for which the National Bureau of Zimbabwe is liable in terms of this Part; and
(b) to claim and recover from the person whose negligence or other unlawful act gave rise to the claim only so much of his claim as exceeds the amount recovered from the National Bureau of Zimbabwe:
Provided that the right of recovery directly from the National Bureau of Zimbabwe shall become prescribed upon the expiry of a period of two years from the date on which such claim arose.
(2) Any condition relating to or applying to a yellow card or any provision of any law, including the common law, which purports to restrict the liability of the National Bureau of Zimbabwe in terms of this Part shall not be of any force or effect.
(3) Only one action shall be instituted against the National Bureau of Zimbabwe in respect of the claim of one or more persons claiming damages for the death of a person on whom they were dependent and any such action shall be instituted in the name of a person agreed on between all such dependants or, failing such agreement, in the name of a person appointed by the court.
(4) An action instituted in terms of subsection (3) shall be for the benefit of all the dependants referred to in that subsection and the amount recovered from the National Bureau of Zimbabwe in respect of any such action shall, after the deductions of any costs unrecovered from the National Bureau of Zimbabwe, be divided between such dependants in such proportions as the court may direct.
37. Obtaining of Part IV insurance cover
Nothing contained in this Part shall be construed as preventing the issue of a statutory policy in terms of Part III in relation to a motor vehicle or trailer to which this Part would otherwise apply if no yellow card insurance cover is in force in relation to the motor vehicle or trailer concerned.
38. Issue in Zimbabwe of yellow card for use outside Zimbabwe
(1) If a person who is:
(a) ordinarily resident in Zimbabwe; and
(b) the holder of a statutory policy issued in respect of a motor vehicle or trailer by an insurer in Zimbabwe who is a member of the Insurance Council of Zimbabwe;
wishes to obtain a yellow card third party insurance cover in respect of the use of the motor vehicle or trailer in a designated Member State, he may apply therefor to the insurer concerned.
(2) An insurer to whom an application in terms of subsection (1) has been made shall issue the applicant with a yellow card third party insurance cover for use of the motor vehicle or trailer concerned in such designated Member State as may be specified in the yellow card.
(3) No yellow card insurance cover issued in Zimbabwe shall be valid in respect of the use of any motor vehicle or trailer in Zimbabwe.