Address by the Minister of Transport, Ms Dipuo Peters, on the occasion of World Remembrance Day Commemoration, Mandela Park Stadium Khayelitsha, Cape Town
Programme Director;
Deputy Minister of Transport, Mrs Sindisiwe Lydia Chikunga;
All Transport and Community Safety MECs present;
Parliamentary Portfolio Committee Members;
Chief Executive Officers of Transport Entities,
All transport sector stakeholders present;
Road safety activists;
Representatives of various community and faith based organisations;
Members of the media;
Ladies and gentlemen;
Hello and Welcome!
On this emotional yet imperative day of remembrance, we have gathered in earnest to extend our prayers and deepest thoughts to the victims of road crashes, as well as to express our support to families of road accident victims across the world.
It is highly pertinent to note that this day of emotive recollection and intervention follows the two-day 2nd National Road Safety Summit which took place over two days prior to our gathering here.
The purpose of the National Road Safety Summit was specifically to find real and sustainable solutions to the carnage we see on our roads. Senior government officials, CEOs of entities, youth and civil society structures, transport sector stakeholder alike all converged and intensively interacted at the Summit with the common purpose of thrashing out meaningful inputs towards the finalisation of a National Road Safety Strategy.
The summit was a major collaborative success between government and the citizenry, made possible by our democratic dispensation which encourages public participation on matters that influence the South Africa we all aspire to and want to live in. The broad and analytical inputs we received are duly anticipated to leverage our country in our resolute pursuit of United Nations (UN) Decade of Action on Road Safety goals.
As government, we articulated a solemn commitment to action and implement the resolutions adopted at the summit. This is not to be realised in isolation of the contributions of our all South Africans, especially young people.
It is imperative that we roll-up our sleeves and work tirelessly in order to achieve our objectives because the future of our country depends on it. Our government has heralded the transport sector as the heartbeat of our country’s social and economic development.
As you are all aware, the body cannot function without a heart and when the heartbeat stops everything dies. This calls upon us all, as leaders and actioners in the transport sector, to maximise our efforts to ensure that our country moves in the prosperous direction it needs to.
Through the National Development Plan (NDP) vision 2030, the ANC-led government has brilliantly mapped out the direction which we need to take as a country in order for our economy to thrive. The NDP makes it abundantly clear that to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality, there should be accelerated growth in the economy, growth that benefits all South Africans. The NDP serves as an action plan for securing the future of South Africans as charted in the Constitution.
The regrettable fact the road traffic accidents cost the country in excess of R300 billion is very much at odds with our vision to eradicate the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment. The onus is on us to reverse the damage done by road carnages by placing road safety at the forefront of the transport agenda.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am adamant that you will agree with me when I say that most of us are still reeling from the unexpected passing of one of our most precious singing talents, Lebo Mathosa, in a horrific car crash that tragically occurred in the year 2006. At age 29, Lebo was at the peak of her career and had ambitions of starting her own record label but her dreams were cut short by a car crash.
As recent as last year, a car crash robbed our country of Olympic silver and World Championship gold medallist. Former World Championship 800 meter champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi was one of the most decorated track athletes our country has ever seen. He was only 34 years of age when the ill-fated crash claimed his life.
Not too long ago (25 October 2015), we lost Khayelistha born soccer talent and Ajax Cape Town Football Club star, Cecil Lolo, who at the young age of 27 passed away when his vehicle collided with another on Spine Road here in Cape Town. He is another high profile sportsman who has unnecessarily succumbed to a preventable road crash after another high profile player fondly known to football fans across the country as the “Kimberly Express” because of his rapid speed and agility on the football field unfortunately died in a car crash.
This has occurred in the same year that we lost the talented Simba Mhere. What is most disheartening is that both these young men still had their best year ahead of them, which is why I want to urge the youth to make responsible decisions when using the roads.
This year, South Africans were also devastated by the reports of the untimely passing of one of our most astute, disciplined and veneered ANC leaders, Minister Collins Chabane, who was prematurely taken away from us by a fatal road crash which also claimed the lives of his two protectors, Sergeants Lesiba Sekele and Lawrence Lentsoane.
I deliberately make mention of the names and titles of Mr Chabane's, may his soul rest in peace, protectors in order to humanise our dialogue by illustrating that victims of road crashes are not faceless. Often we delve too deeply into statistics and figures relating to this abominable scourge and this tends to make us forget that the victims, are parents, providers, children, brothers, sisters, friends, colleagues and people who mattered to someone.
Programme director,
You will notice that I refer to each and every single one of these tragic incidents as ‘road crashes’ as opposed to ‘road accidents’. This is the globally accepted road safety term currently being used because referring to these incidents as “accidents” is a complete misnomer.
An accident happens when no-one is at fault. From statistics we have deduced that 95% of crashes occur due to recklessness and someone violating traffic laws. Therefore we cannot continue to perceive crashes as accidents because they are preventable. If we all take on the human duty to be responsible and considerate drivers, we can substantially reduce these unfortunate occurrences that take our children and bread winners away from us before their time.
Mothers, fathers, children, teachers, doctors and sports personalities alike, we all matter to someone and by not obeying the rules of the road you are endangering the lives of those we love most dearly and hold closest to our hearts. So I want to ask that we change our behaviour and attitudes for the better when we use the roads, especially as we approach the festive season. Buckle up! Do not drive while intoxicated or fatigued, do not use your mobile phone while driving, reduce speed, ensure the road worthiness of your vehicle and always adhere to road regulations. The human and economic cost is too high for us not to re-think the manner in which we approach road safety as individuals. You will all be aware that the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (WDR) is annually observed on the third Sunday of every November each year – to spare a thought for the scores of people killed and hurt on the world’s roads, together with their families, friends and many others who are also affected.
It is also a day on which we thank the emergency services and reflect on the tremendous burden and cost of this daily continuing disaster to families, communities and countries, and on ways to halt it.
The United Nations reports that: “Road traffic injuries remain a major public health problem and a leading cause of death, injury and disability around the world. Each year, nearly 1.3 million people die and between 20 million and 50 million more are injured as a result of road crashes. More than 90 per cent of these deaths occur in low-income and middle-income countries, which have less than half of the world’s vehicles. Road traffic injuries are among the three leading causes of death for people between 5 and 44 years of age”.
It is also reported that road traffic injuries threaten to hinder achievements in economic and human development. Estimates that attribute global losses due to road traffic injuries total $518 billion and cost Governments between 1 and 3 per cent of their gross national product.
Clearly, road traffic injuries place a heavy burden on a country’s economy as a result of their direct impact on health-care and rehabilitation services, as well as through indirect costs. They also can place huge financial stress on affected families, who often must absorb medical and rehabilitation costs, funeral costs and such other costs as the lost earnings of the victim, in addition to extensive emotional strain.
The grief and distress experienced by this huge number of people is all the greater because many of the victims are young, because many of the crashes could and should have been prevented.
This special Remembrance Day is therefore intended to respond to the great need of road crash victims for public recognition of their loss and suffering. It has also become an important tool for governments and those who work to prevent crashes or respond to the aftermath, as it offers the opportunity to demonstrate the enormous scale and impact of road death and injury and the urgent need for action.
In 2015 we are therefore commemorating the 20th anniversary of observing the World Rememberance Day globally and the 10th anniversary of its adoption by the United Nations.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I want to take this opportunity to remind you all that we are gathered here on the days leading to the 2nd High-level Road Safety Conference soon to be held in Brazil.
This 2nd Conference is inspired by and follows the 1st Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, held in Russia in 2009, which gathered more than 70 ministers and 1,500 participants from around the world. The main outcome was a Declaration urging the United Nations to call for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020.
Launched officially in May 2011, the Decade of Action aims at saving 5 million lives during this ten-year period. The 2nd Conference is a reaction to a serious public health problem that affects countries socially and economically, in particular low- and middle-income countries.
The 2nd Conference is timely, in that it takes place during the final negotiations of the goals which will be set as part of the post-2015 development agenda. It will also be an opportunity for Member States to exchange information and experiences on best practices in road safety.
Delegates will review progress in implementation of the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 and identify concretely how to achieve its stated goal. It is a unique moment to bring a new impetus to the Decade of Action at its mid- point – a time to reaffirm commitments and propose new strategies for the next five years, in light of the scenario that should emerge from discussions on the new Sustainable Development Goals.
Main discussion items include:
1. Key achievements in the Decade of Action
2. Next steps in achieving the goal of the Decade of Action
3. Road safety towards 2030
4. Global targets and indicators for road safety
5. Pillars of the Global Plan for the Decade of Action
6. Emerging issues in road safety
I have no doubt in my mind that South Africa will be in a favourable position to engage meaningfully and vigorously at this important conference. We aim to use the conference as a platform to indicate our commitment to achieving the international road safety goals.
The UN General Assembly invited WHO to monitor progress through its Global status report on road safety series. This report is the third in the series, and provides a snapshot of the road safety situation globally, highlighting the gaps and thereby encouraging the need for countries and the international community to galvanise greater and faster action.
The number of road traffic deaths – 1.25 million in 2013 – has remained constant since 2007 despite the global increase in population and motorization and a predicted rise in deaths. This suggests that interventions implemented over the past few years to improve global road safety have saved lives
Ladies and gentlemen,
This day will also mark the launch of the ‘Road Accident Fund (RAF) Mobile Office’, a welcome extension to the accomplished ‘RAF on the Road’ initiative, which has progressively established its reputation as a bastion for taking public services to the people
I want to encourage you to actively utilise RAF Mobile Office to claim directly from the fund! The launch of the ‘RAF Mobile Office’ follows on the success of the Fund’s award winning flagship marketing programme ‘RAF on the Road’, a community outreach campaign that started in March 2012. It has taken the RAF’s service offering to disadvantaged communities countrywide, provided a platform for stakeholder engagement from the three tiers of government, as well as national, regional and local media.
To ensure that the RAF continues to provide its much needed services to the rural areas and/ or far-flung corners of South Africa; to those community members that are unable to attend our outreach programmes due to incapacitation or financial constraints we are extending the way the RAF reaches its customer base through the mobile office.
I want to close by saying that, it is often said that the fundamental recipe for spiritual and mental restoration is comprised of prayer, forgiveness and resolute optimism about the future and as Lyndon Baines Johnson (the 36th President of the United States of America) once said, “Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.”
Engagements such as World Remembrance Day are crucial to the comforting transition towards a victorious tomorrow which must be earmarked by the elimination of unnecessary road crashes because only when we have comprehensively reflected on previous tragedies and have healed will we be able to confront the scourge of road crashes emphatically.
I thank you.
