Education for R87 000 in damages
11 July 2006
The Department of Transport, Roads and Community Safety is suing Mr Ben
Mothusi, the official driver of the provincial MEC for Education, the Reverend
Johannes Tselapedi, for the recovery of an amount of R87 000.
The decision to institute legal proceedings against Mothusi (42), followed
developments arising from the investigation into a motor vehicle accident that
involved MEC Tselapediâs official car (BBB 520 NW).
âWe are of the opinion that the state driver, Mr Mothusi, was not authorised
to drive the state vehicle at the time of the accident. Nothing has been
forthcoming to convince us that he was on duty at the time of the accident and
we have no option other than to request the court to recover the loss from
himâ.
The vehicle, the 2003 model black Mercedes Benz E240 was damaged beyond
repair after it ploughed into a wall fence at house no: 1319 in Unit 7,
Mmabatho near Mafikeng on Saturday, 26 February 2006.
The accident happened at approximately 23h30. No other vehicles were
involved and there were no injuries. The driver of the car at the time of the
accident was Mr Mothusi. The vehicle like all other state vehicles allocated to
provincial departments was procured by the Department of Transport, Roads and
Community Safety on behalf of the Department of Education in the province.
The value of the car at the time of the accident was R87 000. To compound
the issue even further our insurance company, Glenrand M.I.B has since
dismissed as ânot legitimateâ our claim to pay the cover.
After conducting their own investigations into the said accident Glenrand
M.I.B rejected to process our claim on the grounds that:
* Mr Mothusi allegedly failed to disclose the fact that he was charged for
drunken driving.
* He allegedly refused to give blood samples to the police and was
uncooperative even to deal with doctors at the hospital
* He allegedly was fined R500 for drinking and driving.
We are aware that Mr Mothusi and a passenger who was travelling with him at
the time made statements to the police to the effect that the accident happened
while trying to avoid a collision.
Be that as it may, there are guidelines which are well documented and all
state drivers are fully appraised with the policies governing state
vehicles.
Whether Mothusi complied or did not comply as well as the status of the
investigation internal investigation that can be best explained by the
Department of Education.
From our side as the Department of Transport Roads and Community Safety we
just have to recover the huge loss and are convinced there are sufficient legal
grounds to pursue this matter in court.
Issued by: Department of Transport, Roads and Community Safety, North West
Provincial Government
11 July 2006
Source: North West Provincial Government (http://www.nwpg.gov.za)
