The Programme Director;
The Premier of the Province;
Mayor of the Frances Baard District Municipality;
Mayor of the Sol Plaatjie Municipality;
The South African Defence and all its Components;
The SAPS Top Management;
All government departments;
Our Beautiful Youth and Learners;
Members of the Media;
Fellow South Africans;
Ladies and gentlemen;
Dumelang, Sanibonani, Goeie More, Good Morning.
Programme Director, allow me to first start by passing our gratitude as a department and the Northern Cape government to the South African Defence Force and all its components, for having descended on our province to officiate over three days of our Career Expo and Alcohol and Drug abuse awareness campaign.
Let me also extend a word of thanks to all the sister departments and other role-players who worked around the clock to make this initiative a success.
But of all, let me extend a big thank to the young people and learners of our province in particular, for being so committed and dedicated throughout the three days of our programme, a programme designed specifically to empower and equip them with necessary tools for a brighter future.
Ladies and gentlemen, the purpose of my address here today is to officially launch, to the public, the month of Transport, October. On 1 October 2013, we had a media briefing wherein we also officially launch this month.
The theme of this month for this year is; “Celebrating 20 years of delivering efficient, safe and reliable transport services”
This theme, ladies and gentlemen, is derived from the United Nations ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020’ and the objective thereof is to reduce, and even better halt, road fatalities throughout the world.
Accordingly and most appropriately, this campaign is specifically targeting young people and other road users with the aim of engaging them on road safety, the state and the use of public transport.
We must, Programme Director, promote continual engagement in spreading the message of road safety and in encouraging everyone to play a meaningful role in this regard.
Ladies and gentlemen, the ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety’ is premised on the following five pillars:
Building road safety management capacity
This include improving the capacity of services, Law Enforcement and Road Safety Education and Awareness.
Improving the safety of road infrastructure and broader transport networks
This include the Engineering and the Identification of Hazard Locations on our roads.
Developing the safety of vehicles
This include, Ladies and gentlemen, all the Designs, Manufacturing and Safety Mechanism.
Enhancing the behaviour of road users
This is specifically aimed at Influencing road user behaviour through advertising and public relations campaigns.
Improving post-crash care
This include improving EMS, first aid training and post-crash assistance and the Road Accident Fund.
In rolling out this campaign, ladies and gentlemen, the department of Transport, Safety and Liaison, and the provincial government as a whole, reassures all of our communities across our beautiful province that our road safety operations will be intensified throughout without exception.
Our law enforcement agencies will be targeting all road users such as your motorist, truckers, taxi operators, buses, pedestrians, local holiday travellers, long distance coaches and dangerous goods carriers.
We want to send a very strong message to all the above to take personal responsibility for their safety on the road of our province.
I am saying this, Programme Director, Ladies and gentlemen, precisely because the time has come for all of us to make road safety everybody’s business because one loss is one too many, and as a province and our country at large we cannot allow this to continue under our watchful eye.
The most difficult and disheartening part of my portfolio has been attending memorial service and in some instance funerals of those who have lost their lives through road carnages, and while we all know that road accidents are preventable indeed.
Most of these road accidents continue to occur at an alarming rate due to unnecessary overtaking at wrong areas, driving under the influence, exceeding the speed limit and overloading of public transport vehicle.
Ladies and gentlemen, while the Northern Cape accident statistics on road fatalities per annum has been the lowest on average nationally compared to other province, we must not rest but intensify our road safety awareness campaign to achieve even more better results.
For the past five years or so, the stats are as follow:
2007/08 = 414
2008/09 = 315
2009/10 = 233
2010/11 = 257
2011/12 = 208
2012/13 = 230
Let us all work harder to ensure that these fatalities are reduced to zero!
We are making a call to all of our communities to say road safety begins with you.
I thank you.
