Programme Director
Delegation from the National Department of Transport led by Rev Vundla
Delegation from the Road Traffic Management Corporation
Road Safety Stakeholders
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is indeed a great honour for me to officially open this important gathering, which seeks to open a new chapter in our efforts of making “road safety everybody’s responsibility”.
In her State of the Province Address, our Honourable Premier Noxolo Kiviet raised a serious concern about the accident rate on the Eastern Cape roads and the number of resultant casualties, which she believed are unacceptable and should not be allowed to rise.
Guided by the ANC’s Manifesto, we believe that working together we can do more as we are convinced that government cannot achieve the desired outcomes alone in isolation to other role players.
In our own Provincial Strategic Framework, one of our key 8 priorities is Building cohesive, caring and sustainable communities.
This means that there is a need for a collaborative partnership with key stakeholders such as other government departments, public transport operators, big business, civil society and most importantly �" our communities.
The National Road Safety Programme, which has been initiated by the National Department of Transport under the leadership of Rev Vundla will assist all of us to coordinate our activities and strengthen our collaboration.
This session needs to mark a launching pad of our programme to reach out in all corners of the province, where we are going to launch local and district road safety councils.
Through this collaboration, we will be able to identify best practice models with a good probability of success for adaptation that will suit our uniqueness as the province.
As we all know that Eastern Cape is a rural Province with the majority of its population residing in rural areas and that requires our initiatives to talk to our rural nature.
Such models need to have specific focus on intensive community involvement to empower those communities through education and job creation.
In fact, the Eastern Cape has already made visible and decisive advances in that front through innovative means.
One of our shining examples is the Road Rangers Programme, where we are working with communities to guard against stray animals on our roads.
Through this initiative, we want to:
1. Decrease vulnerability to road accidents
2. Monitor stray animals through community involvement
3. Create awareness and ownership of road safety in communities especially in rural areas
4. Guard against theft of road fence erected by government
5. Alleviate poverty
6. Assist in socio- economic development in rural population
7. Respond to the Provincial Growth and Development Plan (PGDP), Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) and the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (AsgiSA).
In partnership with communities, the department has employed 240 community members as road rangers and they are working in all 6 districts. This year, we are going to create 210 work opportunities through the Road Rangers Programme.
We have allocated R16 million to be spent for all the 450 Road Rangers in the province.
The selection of candidates involves ward committees and local transport forums to identify people who:
1. Own a horse and a saddle
2. Have an ability to read and write
3. Are physical fit and healthy
4. Are familiar with the geography of the area
5. Live or stay in a close proximity to the road concerned
6. Are knowledgeable about the communities targeted
7. Understand of dangers posed by animals on the road
These road rangers get a monthly stipend of R3 000.00 and we also provide them with
* Binoculars
* Reflective protective clothing
* Red flag
Their scope of work includes:
1. Patrol of 5 km
2. Fixing and maintaining fence and gates along the road
3. Reporting accidents
4. Assisting in scholar patrol and road crossings
5. Linking with Traffic Control, South African Police Service (SAPS)
We have established a Provincial Stray Animal Management Task Team to intensify our road safety education. The objective of the task team is to reduce road carnages and fatalities caused by animal collision on our roads. This was done through massive education on dangers caused by stray animals on our roads targeting community members, herdmen and stockowners.
As such we were able to reach 10 498 community members, herdmen and stockowners along these following routes N2 from Dutywa, Mthatha, Dangwana and Mt Ayliff, R61 as from Queenstown, Mthatha, Port St Johns, R408, R345, R346, R63, R72, R396, N6 from East London to Queenstown, N9 Aberdeen Willowmore, Graaff-Reinet to Aberdeen, R75 Uitenhage to Jansenville, R61 Aberdeen to Beaufort West.
About 5 120 stray animals were impounded within our public roads.
Since last year, we have intensified and maximized our road safety programmes to focus on the youth and community based projects.
About 38 500 learners were reached through scholar projects and programmes. The school debate project reached 625 learners and 125 schools participated. Through this project, learners were exposed and trained on road safety topics, which empowered them with knowledge and skills that will make them safer road users.
In our effort to curb pedestrian death and fatalities, the Department has conducted 17 trainings sessions to educate pedestrians about road safety and stray animal awareness training sessions have been conducted to reduce stray animal related accidents.
In preparation for 2010 Soccer World Cup with Road Safety investment of R1million, the department will embark upon the following measures:
* 1 450 schools will be reached through road safety education.
* 507 500 children will be reached through road safety education.
* 215 crossing patrols will be provided.
* 7 829 adults will be trained in road safety education.
We have further recruited 308 traffic safety volunteers, who will assist traffic officers at the Public Viewing Areas during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The introduction of Road Safety Councils augurs well with all these initiatives and will help us to ensure maximum participation of our communities in all our activities.
This means that today we need elect people, who:
- Understand the task at hand
- Share our vision
- Are prepared to go an extra in pursuit of our noble objectives
Conclusion
This is an opportunity of a lifetime for all us. Let us work together to create an environment that will be appreciated by many generations to come.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Transport, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
23 March 2010
Source: Department of Transport, Eastern Cape Provincial Government (http://www.ectransport.gov.za/?page_id=573)
