Speech by the Minister of Transport, Ms. Dipuo Peters, MP, on the occasion of the Torch of Peace handing over ceremony, in Kimberley, Northern Cape
- Premier of the Northern Cape Province, Ms. Sylvia Lucas;
- MEC Ms. Martha Bartlett in her capacities as MEC for Roads, Safety and Liaison as well as Acting MEC for Education in the Northern Cape Province;
- The Director-General of the DoT, Mr Godfrey Selepe;
- Officials from the three spheres of government
- Chief Executives and other representatives of State Owned Companies and agencies
- All our industry partners and stakeholders
- Ladies and gentlemen of the media;
- Distinguished guests;
Programme Director,
Let me tell you that I am imbued with a keen sense of pride and a great deal of optimism on this monumental occasion marking the official handing over of the torch of peace to my colleague Minister of Basic Education, Mrs Angie Motshekga. The Torch of Peace was handed over to the Transport Department in December 2015 by the Department of Social Development for the Festive Season Road Safety campaign.
Allow me to begin by heartily commending Minister Motshekga and her Department for the invariably critical role that the education sector is playing in not only ensuring that access to one of the most fundamental human rights is attainable, but also for the enormous strides that the South African government has taken in improving the quality of education and enhancing the lives of all South Africans.
Indeed, it is not by chance that South Africa has one of the largest economies on the African continent and is home to some of the world most sought-after industry professionals. The first ever surgical heart transplant took place in South Africa and our country continues to thrive on a global scale in the fields of science and technology, health, research and development, and engineering. An example of this prowess is the Square Kilometer Array, the world’s largest and most powerful telescope, which is being constructed here in the Northern Cape Province. South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Programme is one of the best in the world and our airports are internationally recognised as state of the art. All of the aforementioned achievements and attributes undoubtedly point to a highly functional and prolific education system in our country.
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is worth noting that the sequence in which the Torch of Peace is relayed from one department to the next is not by coincidence nor is this important exercise implemented randomly.
A torch is widely regarded as a symbol of insight, illumination and hope across the many different corners of the world. South Africa is no exception to this common creed. Hence, the torch of peace is relayed thematically from one department to another depending on the national awareness campaign taking its course on the national calendar in order to heighten consciousness, hopefulness and enlightenment. For example, the Department of Transport took charge of the Torch in December when our attentions as a nation were increasingly turned towards road safety.
Subsequently, we are now handing over the torch to the Department of Basic Education when our collective focus is on our South African children returning back to schools. This year, the Department of Transport passes on the torch in support of the beginning of the “Safer Schools” campaign as the 2016 school year commences.
Gradually, the Torch of Peace has become a symbol of South Africa’s national campaigns to combat violence against women and children, and improve safety at schools and on the road. The Torch of Peace has evolved to represent a rallying point for the creation of a more caring and humane, and safer South Africa.
Ladies and gentlemen,
You would all be aware that as recently as Monday, 11 January 2016, the Department of Transport officially announced the Festive Season Road Crash and Fatalities statistics which unfortunately indicated a 14% increase on the 2014 figures.
The total number of road crash fatalities recorded between 1 December 2015 and 11 January 2016 stands at 1755, but allow me to emphasise that this data does not depict the full picture of the inroads the Department of Transport and its state owned entities have made towards the reduction of road crash fatalities.
We have seen a nominal increase and an appreciable reduction because, if one were to analyse the data meticulously, you would note that in 2015, there were 21,563 more people with learners licences and 508,054 more South Africans issued with drivers licences than was the case in 2014. Although learners licences holders are only permitted to be behind the wheel of a vehicle under the supervision of a full drivers licence holder, these figures mean that, in essence, a total of 529,617 more people were eligible to drive in 2015 than there were in 2014. Additionally, the increase in mostly novice vehicle operators, corresponded with a 369,437 increase in registered vehicles in South Africa for the year 2015.
The abovementioned statistics present us with what is often referred to as a ‘double-edged sword’. For one, they bode well for the development of our country as they indicate that more people are active in the economy and are gaining skills – yes, driving is a skill and a very important professional credential to have on one’s CV! On the other hand, they indicate that there are more drivers, some of them still learning, and more vehicles on our roads which exacerbates traffic congestion and pressure on transport infrastructure. Thus, the risk of road crashes is also increased.
As a responsible, caring and proactive government, we acted promptly and incisively in order to curb the risk factors posed by the well foreseen double edged sword. We executed this by intensifying our interventions and heightened our visibility. Between 01 December 2015 and 11 January 2016, we stopped and checked 1,7 million vehicles, arrested over 6 000 motorists for drunken driving, 808 for excessive speeding and discontinued 5 710 vehicles for being un-roadworthy and 419 for various traffic violations.
I must also indicate that our traffic officials were not permitted to go on leave during that period, and that we ensured that there is a traffic officer overseeing driver behavior on the roads for every 30 kilometers. We also clamped down on several traffic officials for corrupt behavior, ranging from soliciting bribes to selling road worthiness certificates and licences. Such conduct will not be tolerated and will be met with severe punishment. Also if you are a driver and offer to pay a bribe or incite any corrupt behavior, make no mistake about it, you will be arrested.
For those who falsely hold the belief that the Department of Transport only pays attention to road safety during traffic hike periods such as holidays, you are urged to familiarise yourselves with the Department’s 365 Days of Road Safety Programme. The implementation of this all year round programme is heightened accordingly during peak seasons.
Programme Director,
We believe that by fortifying our efforts in the manner which I have just succinctly specified, we saved a vast number of lives from succumbing to road crashes. For all intents and purposes, that means the statistics could have been far worse than the figures announced when considering all the factors at play in the year 2015.
This, however, does not mean that we are claiming a victory against the scourge of road crashes as we are of the firm conviction that ‘one death on the roads, is one too many’. It means that, as government, we need to continue in the same trajectory while escalating our efforts even further to ensure that we realise the United Nations (UN) Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 objectives of halving road carnages by the year 2020. Much more work lies ahead!
Indeed, far from being a complacent government, we have begun to intensely analyse the 2015/16 statistics and they leave much to be desired. For instance, 73.6% of fatal road crashes during the 2015/16 festive period were caused by human factors. This means that someone was either drinking and driving, texting and driving, speeding or flouting the rules of the road in one or more of the numerous other ways that can lead to a road crash.
I am certain that you will all agree with me when I say that it is grossly unacceptable that our people who are breadwinners, teachers, parents and so forth, perish on our roads so unnecessarily when human factors can be completely eliminated if we all obediently comply with the rules or the road.
What is even more alarming and disconcerting is the fact that 42.6% of the crashes caused by human factors involve a jaywalking pedestrian. As a parent, I cannot express in words how mortifying it is to learn that 10.4% of pedestrian deaths were attributed to children between the ages 0-4. It means that parents are not looking after our young ones, nor are they teaching them how to use the roads responsibly from an early age. As a matter of fact children at that age not even supposed use the roads without the supervision of an adult. This suggests that we are careless when it comes to the safety of our children.
Even more infuriating is the information specifying that almost 50% of intoxicated drivers who were stopped by traffic officials during the festive period were women drivers.
Women are generally expected to be life-givers, nurturers, guardians of our children and upholders of our society’s value systems yet the given statistics undermine that very concept and paint an immensely grim picture for the future of our country. Who will save our children if we, as adults, do not lead by example and demonstrate the virtues of upstanding citizens to our children? It is time that we realised that the government cannot achieve this massive feat of reducing the carnage on its own, we need citizens to come on board by behaving correctly.
The Department of Transport’s commitment to the safety and mobility of our children finds no better expression than in the implementation of programmes such as the Shova Kalula National Bicycle programme which has culminated in the distribution of over one million bicycles nationwide for children who previously had to walk long distances to get to get schools.
The Child Restraint Law which was promulgated by the Department last year, is also a manifestation of the government’s desire to preserve our young and precious lives. We are losing too many of our prospective athletes, doctors, engineers etc. to preventable road crashes and this needs to come to an end.
Ladies and gentlemen,
At this point in time, I would like to heap due praise on the CEO of the Road Accident Fund (RAF), Dr Eugene Watson, for going on record and publicly condemning parents who neglect to ensure the safety of their children when using the roads. The latest Road Accident Fund campaign, My Road Your Road, seeks to show that by considering the needs of other road users and through good behaviour, we can save lives, thus producing tangible results. As the caring arm of government, the RAF is playing a significant role in reducing the carnage on our roads and this is worth applauding as prevention is indeed better than cure.
Special praise must also be reserved for the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC). Under the stewardship of Advocate Makhosini Msibi, the RTMC was at the forefront of the implementation of the Department of Transport’s road safety campaign. Needless to say that, the RTMC is currently implementing numerous road safety school projects.
To mention just two, for the purposes of brevity, the RTMC’s drivers licence project gives unemployed youth in the Free State and the Western Cape opportunities to obtain drivers licenses through training on simulators and on the roads. The Scholar Patrol project offers scholar patrol training to schools in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape. Although these initiatives are all highly praiseworthy, I would like to urge the RTMC to fast-track the availability of these projects across all nine South African provinces.
Last but not least, the transportation of learners to their respective schools has always been a key challenge confronting government in South Africa. The department has through various studies, such as the National Household Travel Survey of 2013, and the interactions with affected stakeholders, noted that most learners have difficulty in accessing schools in both urban and rural setting. These challenges heralded the formulation of the National Scholar Transport policy.
The development of this learner transport policy aims to address the challenges of accessibility and safety of learners. The draft National Learner Transport Policy was developed in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education and others stakeholders.
This policy recognises the need to bring a uniform approach to the transportation of learners and the fulfilment of the constitutional mandate of the department to provide a safe and efficient transport system. National learner transport policy will further assist to achieve the objectives of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020.
The development of this National Learner Transport Policy falls within the context of National Transport Policy. The policy seeks to support on-going efforts by Government to address the socio and economic development of the country through standardised implementation plans and alignment of strategic frameworks such as the Medium Strategic Framework (MTSF) 2014-2019 and the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030.
I therefore, want to extend my highest gratitude to the Minister Motshekga and the Department of Basic Education for the mutual support and cooperation which led to the finalisation of the National Scholar Transport policy. It is categorically one of the most important policies in the history of our young democratic nation. I as we pass the torch of peace on to our sister department, I want to assure that we do this with no fear or hesitation in our hearts as we know that the Torch of Peace will be in very capable hands. I wish you success in your custodianship of the torch of peace and trust that this year will bear more sweeter fruits than in previous years.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I want to conclude by dispelling the notion that pedestrians are not responsible for fatal road crashes because drinking and walking, and jaywalking are just as dangerous, if not more, than drunken and reckless driving.
I want to also reiterate that we all have a collective responsibility as citizens to conduct ourselves in a proper and safe manner when we are using the roads, whether we are pedestrians, passengers or drivers. We need to inculcate this knowledge in our children from an early age and encourage them to love child-safe seat restraints, because it will save their lives.
I thank you
