Liaison, Roads and Transport at the launch of the Eastern Cape Arrive Alive
Campaign and opening of the Customer Care Centre, Wilsonia, East London
3 December 2007
Today we are officially launching our offensive against lawlessness on our
road network through opening this state-of-the-art Customer Care Centre, which
will serve as a contact point for our people to access government services.
Previously, this was the Provincial Traffic Information Centre, which the
Department of Roads and Transport has repositioned to serve as a customer
service centre for the whole department. This call centre with the toll-free
number of 0800 644 644 and 043 701 7900, is equipped with technology to track
any service delivery request, suggestions or complaints (for example road
condition, quality of public transport, accidents, etc). One of the great
successes of this call centre is 'Operation Pothole', where we received and
attended to complaints from members of the public about potholes in our road
network.
Members of the public are encouraged to continue reporting potholes or
dangerous road conditions through this toll-free number.
This centre will be manned by 30 staff members, who will receive and respond
to calls from 6h00 to 22h00 in the initial phase. Before the end of the
financial year, we will have the centre operating for 24 hours a day. In the
interim, people will be given a cellphone number to call after 22h00.
The official opening of this centre augurs well with the launch of our
Provincial Arrive Alice Campaign for the 2007/08 holiday season. Our strategy
is in line with the National Law Enforcement Plan that responds to the demands
of prevailing circumstances in an effective way.
The objectives of the plan include:
* reduction of accidents, fatalities and injuries on our roads,
* increasing awareness of road traffic safety issues,
* inculcation of good road user behaviour and encourage voluntary
compliance,
* increasing detection and prosecution of critical offences,
* reduction of road accident trauma and costs,
* restoration of confidence and respect for the road traffic management
fraternity,
* co-ordination of common operations at all three tiers of government,
* maximisation of communication of enforcement issues,
* creation of fatigue management strategies.
All traffic offences will be targeted. There will be no selective
enforcement at the exclusion of any other offence, but special focus will be
placed on:
* driver fitness: documentation, fatigue and alcohol abuse
* moving violations: barrier lines, red light infringements, cell phones,
over-speeding
* overloading: passenger and freight transport vehicles
* vehicle fitness: documentation, roadworthiness and registration plate
enforcement
* pedestrian safety: pedestrian jay-walking, drink and walk
* seat belts: Front and rear seat vehicle occupants
* vehicle visibility: defective front and rear lamps
* following distances between heavy vehicles, inconsiderate driving
Special targeted alcohol enforcement exercises will be carried out by
provincial and municipal traffic officers, especially during weekends. The
maximum fine for drunken driving is R120 000,00 or six years imprisonment, or
both and in terms of Section 35 of the National Road Traffic Act, the driving
license of a first time offender may be suspended for a period of at least six
months, for a second offence for a period of at least five years and for a
third or subsequent offence for a period of a least 10 years.
All those, who have been caught driving under the influence of alcohol, will
be reported to the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority
for consideration of their vehicles to be forfeited to the State.
Speed measurement exercises will be targeted mainly in hazardous locations
and these types of interventions will be policed smartly utilising minimum
manpower for maximum impact.
The interventions of our plan include the following:
Operation 'Futha' (Alcohol Focus): November 2007, where more than 500 people
were arrested throughout the Eastern Cape last month.
Operation Safer Festive Season: December 2007, which we are launching today.
This programme coincides with the implementation of the 24-hour shift system
for our Provincial Traffic Officers for the first time in the history of the
Department of Roads and Transport.
I would like to commend the unions that represented our traffic officers for
their cooperation during the negotiation process and I hope that we will
continue to work together to ensure that this programme becomes a success.
People of the Eastern Cape would recall that most of the road accidents that
we have experienced in the past usually occurred during the night or the early
hours of the morning, when there are no traffic officers on the road. For the
first time this year, we will have traffic officers during the day and during
the night. Operation Safer Festive Season will continue until January 2008.
Operation Juggernaut: February 2008
Operation 'Futha'(Alcohol Focus): March 2008
I am convinced that our law enforcement agencies are ready to undertake this
important task with great vigour, as this would serve as a test of our road
traffic management strategies for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
The Eastern Cape Department of Roads and Transport currently has 481 traffic
officers and this number will be increased this coming Thursday, 6 December
2007, when another group of 20 students, who received bursaries from the
Department, will be graduating at the Port Elizabeth Traffic College. This
group of young officers will increase our contingent to 501 and the department
has allocated R4,5 million for their operations during this season.
We also have more than 500 municipal traffic officers throughout the
province, members of the South African Police Service (SAPS), South African
National Defence Force (SANDF) and other relevant stakeholders such as Justice
and Health, who will be working with us in order to realise our objectives. We
believe that through effective integrated law enforcement operations, great
achievements can be made in this province.
The principles of Operation Emisa (stop), that is interpersonal, active
stopping and checking a minimum of 15 vehicles per officer per eight hour
shift, will be enforced by all participating authorities.
Community Safety
We have learned that during this period, more vehicles are being used as
tools to commit crime or to run away from the crime scene by criminals who
target innocent citizens, shopping centres and tourists. The law enforcement
agencies will make use of technology such as the Morphe Touch, a system that
reads fingerprints and links it to the criminal records of individuals to
assist in removing such elements from our society.
The number plate recognition system will also be used to identify vehicles
with outstanding fines and clamp down on road traffic offenders who continue to
be a threat to road safety during this festive season.
This exercise has already started in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro through
'Operation Coca' (Clean Up), which I launched in October 2007 together with
that Municipality, Community Police Forums, Liquor Board and private security
industry. Our main objective is to win back the streets of that region from
criminals and enhance road traffic safety, and the operation will run until
January 2008.
Its focus is on:
* most wanted criminals
* roadblocks
* drunk drivers
* stolen vehicles
* domestic violence
Already, arrests have been made on the following offences:
* 328 for drunken driving
* 169 most wanted persons, especially for serious crimes like murder and armed
robbery
* 340 for drunken disorder
* 838 fines issued for unroadworthy vehicles, including vehicles used in
criminal activities and unlicensed vehicles
* six illegal immigrants
* 26 stolen vehicles recovered
* 21 firearms recovered
* 95 arrests for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm
Conclusion
This approach of integration and co-ordination of our work gives more weight
to our strategies, as we continue to embark on our programme of action to
change the lives of our people for the better.
It is when we work together as various spheres of government and our social
partners that we can be able to successfully combat lawlessness in our
society.
Issued by: MEC for Safety, Liaison, Roads and Transport, Eastern Cape
Provincial Government
3 December 2007
