Road safety issues and every individual’s invaluable contribution towards realising safer roads in South Africa was the main focus of the concluding October Transport Month 2015 (OTM) event in Manyatseng, Ladybrand.
Pastors from various churches in the Free State remembered victims of road accidents at the event on Saturday 31 October attended by the communities of Manyatseng, Ladybrand and surrounding towns and graced by the presence of MEC Butana Komphela, Limpopo Transport MEC, Hon. Mapula Mokaba and MEC Martha Bartlett from the Northern Cape Province.
Because of a drastic increase in traffic moving in and out of the provinces that were witnessed in the country recently, law enforcement operations are being heightened at all the major roads to ensure that traffic flow is managed and that motorists and occupants adhere to road safety procedures throughout the year.
The event started with a prayer session that took place on the R26 road where traditional healers and pastors prayed for motorists and pedestrians who lost their lives on the road. They also prayed for a safer passage for prospective travellers during the Festive Season.
MEC Butana Komphela lifted the spirits of the people of Manyatseng by singing praise songs. He told them that the road safety event provides an opportunity for all of us to do introspection and ponder as individuals and a collective on how we address road safety issues and how we respond to them.
“The onus is on all of us to personally take responsibility for our own lives and the lives of other road users. Communities should take a stand and cooperate to ensure that all obstacles in the way of safer roads are cleared. This means that all speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol and un-roadworthy vehicles must be permanently removed from our roads,“ MEC Komphela said at the event.
The Department of Police, Roads and Transport in the Free State would like to applaud the work done by our churches, the law enforcement officers, and our Road Safety Officers for their endeavours to keep our roads safe. We will, together with our stakeholders, continue to initiate and support road safety educational campaigns to heighten awareness on road tragedies in order to ensure that sooner than later we arrive at the United Nations (UN) Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 target to reduce road accidents by 50%.
Enquiries:
Hillary Mophethe
Cell: 079 521 7113
