Programme Director,
Executive Mayor and Councillors of King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality,
Traditional leaders,
Religious leaders,
Road safety council members,
Educators and learners,
Public transport operators,
Commuters,
Ladies and gentlemen.
Today we are joining millions of the people of the world, especially from the United Nations (UN) member states to highlight the plight of our road users, especially pedestrians during this important week in the international community calendar. This forms part of the Zenani Mandela Campaign, which is a Nelson Mandela initiative for the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety.
Through this “Long Short Walk” we want to achieve two things:
- Promotion of healthy lifestyles as instructed by President Jacob Zuma during the State of the Nation Address and Premier Noxolo Kiviet during the State of the Province Address this year. We need to seriously look at our health, especially the shape of our bodies.
- Raise road safety awareness, especially the safety of pedestrians, who continue to lose their lives unnecessarily on our roads, especially on this route (R61 between Mandela Park and Efata Special School).
As South Africans, we are equally concerned about the road traffic injuries, which are a growing public health, economic and social issue, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups of road users, especially the poor.
Each year almost 1.3 million people die and a further 50 million are injured or permanently disabled in road crashes. This phenomenon is now the leading cause of death for children and young people aged between 15 and 29. These are future leaders and we have a responsibility to protect and ensure that they play a pivotal role in the building of our nation.
As OR Tambo used to say, “A nation that does not care about its youth has no future and does not deserve one.”
South Africa is a youthful country with over 41% of the country’s population constituting those classified as youth. However, road crashes continue to pose a serious threat to the development of this critical group of our population, which has a potential to contribute to our economy.
The burden of road crashes is comparable with malaria and tuberculosis and costs between 1% and 3% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – more than the total development aid received by lower and middle income countries.
In South Africa almost 14 000 people die on our roads costing the economy R306 billion about 1,5% of the country’s GDP annually. It is this premise that the United Nations has declared 2011-2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety. During this period, we are all expected to make efforts to halt and reduce the death toll through systematic improvements in road infrastructure, vehicle safety and road user behaviour.
This year’s Road Safety Week from 6 - 12 May 2013 has been dedicated to pedestrian safety.
As South Africans, especially in this Province, we know that more than 40% of our road crashes involve pedestrians. Regions like the OR Tambo, Alfred Nzo and Amathole are prone to such incidents.
Even the reflection on the 2013 Easter Holiday period road accidents indicates that pedestrians continue to be the main victims of the fatalities occurring on secondary road routes. A high percentage of the people who died on our roads were pedestrians whilst many passengers also lost their lives because they did not use safety belts.
The time has come for us to act and do so faster!
We must continue to mobilise our people through initiatives at local, regional, national and global levels as well as NGO’s, governments, private sector companies and other stakeholders with a particular focus on supporting pedestrian activities around the province targeting young and other vulnerable road users, who continue to:
- jay walk
- drink and walk
- walk on freeways
- be poorly visible on the road
- be distracted when using the road (texting or playing games on cellphones).
This week, the departmental officials working together with the Community Road Safety Councils and other role players have been reaching out to all areas of our province to raise awareness about pedestrian safety.
On behalf of provincial government, I would like to salute your efforts in this global campaign through motivational talks in community radio stations, schools, taxi ranks, shopping centres and street corners. You have, indeed, demonstrated your commitment to this global effort.
This year, the main thrust of our road safety programme is to respond to Pillar 4: Safe Road Users of the Decade of Action Campaign in order to address the road safety challenges in the province.
Working together with the Community Road Safety Councils, we will:
- conduct Road Safety Interventions, ,reaching 160 938 road users which are Learners, Youth, Motorists, Stock owners, Herdsmen, Pedestrians, Commuters
- hold 19 training sessions on Road Safety Education for the Community Road Safety Councils and
- conduct 30 Road Safety Operations to be led by the Community Road Safety Councils.
Working together with the National Department of Transport, Road Traffic Management Corporation, Road Accident Fund and a private company called EQSTRA Fleet Management, we will continue to heighten Pedestrian Safety Awareness through our “Driver for Walker and Walker for Driver” campaign led by our Community Road Safety Councils.
The Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Departments of Education and Transport will enhance our commitment to road safety education. More school-going youth will be targeted to impart safe driving skills and instill the culture of road safety to learners through the Learner Driver Education Programme.
It is gratifying to observe that even children from special schools like Efata have been actively participating in our road safety programmes, especially our learner driver project, and some of them have acquired their learners licences.
They have never attempted to create excuses because of their disabilities. This effort is a mandatory integration and mainstreaming of disabilities into departmental programmes, especially the core functions as a model of transformation.
We have a responsibility as government to ensure that we adhere to the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Employment Equity Act, Code of Good Practice on the Employment of People with Disabilities.
The Eastern Cape Department of Transport will provide learners and driving licence training to six people with disabilities in the province this year. The selection of candidates will be done in partnership with the Eastern Cape Disability Economic Empowerment Trust (ECDEET) and Disabled People of South Africa (DPSA).
This follows the success of a pilot project, which targeted people with disabilities within and outside the department two years ago.
We call upon:
- the driving schools of the province to make means to accommodate disabled people
- municipalities to ensure that their traffic departments have instructors and testing officers, who are orientated or trained to deal with disabled people.
We are all compelled by the Bill of Rights to ensure that we contribute to the success of this project.
In conclusion, Let us continue to work together to improve the safety of our road users.
The time for action is now!
I thank you!
