Women’s caucus committee sends heartfelt condolences to the families of the bus crash
The Women’s Caucus Standing Committee sends its deepest heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families, friends and colleagues of the Monday morning bus crash accident which took place in Tafalofefe, near Centane. The committee’s thoughts are also with the injured passengers and wishes all of them a speedy recovery. 15 of the deceased passengers are women, 09 are males and a child bringing the total number of the deceased to 25.
This horrific bus accident, which claimed 25 lives and left 61 passengers injured, sent shock waves across the country. The committee also commends the timeous response by the government to this accident; within no time traffic officers, police, emergency services were on the scene to assist the injured and to recover the bodies of the deceased passengers.
“We call upon the bus companies not to value money more than the lives of the people. Reports indicate that overload and speeding are suspected to be the cause of this unfortunate accident. We urge the Roads and Transport Department, together with the Mnquma Local Municipality, to act swiftly in ensuring that this road is upgraded to the desired standards to avoid further carnages in the near future,” said the chairperson of the Women’s Caucus, MPL Bukiwe Fanta.
“Commuters on this bus were the poorest of the poor, rushing to Butterworth to get their social security grants. They also do deserve to be treated with the utmost respect and not to be subjected to second-class services. The government must ensure that the mode of transport used to transport the poor is roadworthy and poor roads conditions must be attended to as a matter of urgency to avoid similar incidents ever happening again,” concluded MPL Fanta.
