Thank you, Programme director
MEC for Safety Security and Liaison
Executive Mayor and Local Mayor
Councillors from the Portfolio Committees on Transport, Safety and Security
Representatives from National and Provincial Departments of Transport and Safety, Security and Liaison
The National Secretariat of Police
Representatives from the Cross Border Road Transport Agency, Road Accident Fund and Road Traffic Management Corporation
Members of the OLB
Representatives from the LPTC
Representatives from Driving Schools
Distinguished members of the media and invited guests
I am proud to be given the opportunity to launch the provincial Community Road Safety Council. This has been an eventful year for us as the Department of Roads and Transport, given the work that we have done. We promise that the upcoming year will be different as we will up our tempo to ensure that our people are given what is due to them, better service delivery at an unmatched speed.
The Honourable Minister of Transport, during the launch of Arrive Alive in December 2009, emphasised road safety as one of the key priorities and made a commitment of initiating the establishment of Community Road Safety Councils by all provinces. The establishment of these Community Road Safety Councils implies managing road safety through community involvement because individual efforts by the department are not adequate to reduce the carnage on our roads. Today I am elated that the Minister’s pronouncement is being actualised and we are the second province in the country to launch the Community Road Safety Council.
Programme director,
Allow me to thank the Department of Safety, Security and Liaison for working in collaboration with the Department of Roads and Transport in establishing these Community Road Safety Councils as per JCPS Political Cluster Committee resolution.
As we launch this Road Safety Council here today, the whole world has declared a global Decade of Action for Road Safety against road deaths. The goal of the Decade of Action for Road Safety is to halt or reverse the increasing trend in road traffic fatalities around the world by developing and implementing sustainable road safety strategies and setting an ambitious yet feasible target for reduction of road fatalities by 2020. The Decade of Action for Road Safety will be launched in South Africa on 11 May 2011 in Gauteng. This launch is part of the global launch. Fatalities on our roads cannot be accepted as inevitable as road accidents don’t just happen. They are caused and thus can be prevented.
Programme director,
The sad reality, according to the United Nations World Health Organisation, is that by 2015, road crashes will be the number one killer of children aged between 5 and 14 in Africa, outsprinting Malaria and AIDS. We have to do something and the onus lies with the Road Safety Councils to ensure that this reality does not see the light of the day come 2015.
The primary contributory factors towards road accidents include excessive speed, drinking and driving and the reluctance to wear a seatbelt. Traffic accidents limit progress by killing and injuring the economically active among the country’s population. These are breadwinners in many households and one accident can destroy the livelihood chain of an extended family. We have to bring to a halt these accidents or otherwise they will bring us to the halt.
Programme director,
It is of critical importance that we outline the aims and objectives of the Road Safety Council so that we can have a clear understanding of their role in our communities. These will also serve as the glue to keep the Council together. They are there to ensure that:
- There is collaborative partnership with key stakeholders such as other government departments [i.e. Agriculture, Health and Education] SAPS, Municipalities, Emergency Services and the community
- There is intensification of community involvement to educate them on road safety whilst involving the community to implement the program
- Communities assist government in promoting safety on the roads and programmes in schools and churches, at community organisations, SASSA pay points, etc
- They assist in the identification of areas with high prevalence of accidents and that they are treated
- They serve as advisory bodies of government on road safety issues that affect communities and
- They work with government to identify dangerous areas and engage local authorities to improve infrastructure.
Programme director,
We won’t be doing justice to ourselves and the councils if we do not mention their roles.
As we put them into action we want them to:
- act as the implementing structure of road safety programmes at local, district and provincial level
- facilitate community’s involvement in the development of road safety projects
- assist law enforcement in ensuring compliance with the rules of the road
- mobilise communities to participate in road safety activities and
- engage in house to house visits to victims of accidents and crime and assist and advice communities on how to claim from the Road Accident Fund.
Programme director,
As the financial year draws to a close, it is important that we inform you about the work we have done in our efforts to win the war against road carnage. We have introduced the high tech Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system which tracks all the outstanding warrants in the province. The ANPR system has recorded huge successes, recovering thousands of rands in outstanding warrants.
We have also introduced the Computerised Learners Licence Test (CLLT’s) in five Driving Licence Testing Centres in order to fight corruption in the driving licence environment. We currently have 10 CLLTs functioning and five more will be completed by the end of this financial year. This system replaces the manual system which was prone to corruption and ended up putting unqualified drivers on our roads resulting in most of them causing serious and fatal accidents. This had to stop.
Programme director,
As the Easter holidays are approaching, we will ensure that our roads become safer for all road users. Through Operation Dumbu, we will have all our traffic officers out in full force. We will utilise all our marked and unmarked vehicles as well as the Moving Violation Recorders and the Automated Number Plate Recognition vehicles. There will be no escape route for anyone planning to violate the rules of the roads in the province.
Programme director,
As the MEC responsible for the Department of Roads and Transport, I assure the council that we are here for support. We have an open door policy and should you encounter obstacles along the way do not hesitate to approach us for assistance. We promise you that we will walk every step of the way with you to ensure that our province’s roads become the one of the safest in the country.
Together, working harder, smarter and faster, we can make our roads safe in order to protect the precious lives of all our people.
Thank you.
