As part of the intensification of the implementation of the National Rolling Enforcement Plan, Eastern Cape MEC for Transport, Roads and Public Works, Thandiswa Marawu successfully launched “Operation Asihleki” in Mthatha last night.
Joined by provincial and municipal traffic officers and South African Police Service (SAPS) members from various parts of the province, MEC Marawu led a two-hour
operation and 12 motorists were arrested for drunken driving and the 13th suspect escaped. A total of 10 summonses were issued before the operation was called off at night due to bad weather.
Addressing the officers involved in the operation, MEC Marawu said road accidents statistics in the Eastern Cape were unacceptably high and called on all law enforcement role players not to smile with misbehaving motorists.
“Through our new brand promise or pay offline (Operation Asihleki) we expect our law enforcement agencies to send a strong warning to road users that we have adopted a zero tolerance approach on our roads. Let us not smile!” she said.
The campaign is in line with the commitment that we have made to the people of the Eastern Cape last month when we declared 2011 as the “Year of intensified Road Safety Activities”.
This commitment is a direct response to the United Nation’s Decade of Action Campaign from 2011 to 2020, which seeks to reduce crashes on our roads. MEC Marawu announced that this year there would be a roll out of the Alcohol Evidence Centres in Mthatha and East London in partnership with the South African Breweries in an effort to effectively deal with the ever increasing number of drunk drivers on our roads.
Enquiries:
Ncedo Kumbaca (Director: Communications)
Cell: 082 5626 023
Source: Eastern Cape Transport
