Speech by the MEC for Transport, Safety, Security 7 Liaison, Hon. Mapula Mokaba-Phukwana, MPL, on the occasion of the pass out parade for newly trained traffic officers at Seshego Stadium, Polokwane Municipality
Programme Director
Let me once more express our appreciation for having the Acting Executive Mayor of Polokwane our honourable councillors and officials in this event. We also acknowledge and appreciate the presence of our esteemed Traditional Leaders, the Chairperson of RTMC Board, Advocate Zola Majavu,
The SAPS Provincial Commissioner, General Ledwaba
The HoD of Transport rakgadi Hanli Du Plessis
The HoD of Safety, Security and Liaison sesi N.N. Tsebe
The Acting Chief Executive Officer of GAAL Ms. Glenda Sengoara
Management from the Department and the Entities
Representatives from both the National and Provincial
Ladies and Gentlemen
Thobela
We are indeed privileged today as witnesses to our efforts as the governing party to make our public roads safer than yesterday. We are convinced that our newly trained traffic cadres are equal to the task to meet our UN road safety targets.
This event also coincide with our efforts to improve the lives of our youth through learning and training. What a wonderful way of ending the Youth month after various celebrations to mark the 40th Anniversary of the June 16 uprising.
This should also be the best birthday present to our late former president Cde Nelson Mandela who strongly believed in the power of education and training.
Ordinarily graduations and passing out parades are associated with celebrations and a beginning of a new life for the graduate. Indeed Catherine Pulsifer contextualised this when she wrote that graduation and passing out parades are:
“A time of completion, of finishing, of an ending, however, it is also a time of celebration of achievement and a beginning for the new graduate”.
As South Africans and in the spirit of cde Nelson Mandela and 1976 June 16, youth graduation and passing out parades have to be the beginning of a period of new life marked with the commitment to serve. Cadres, this is the beginning of a life of sacrifice and commitment to ensure that the people of our province and country enjoy the freedoms to life.
This is not the beginning of lining up your pockets with blood money received as kickbacks at the expense of road safety. The RTMC 2014/15 annual report that 4,500 crashes took place on our public roads between April and August last year was shocking.
The main contributor to these tragedies as confirmed by the Minister of Transport Mme Dipuo Peters was speed and alcohol abuse. To let a driver off the hook whilst under the influence of alcohol or driving at high speed is not only corruption but unpatriotic and make you an accessory to murder.
Programme Director
It a fact that the graduates on this pass out parade are going to join us in the march to move South Africa Forward towards the ideal society we envisaged in the Freedom Charter. We are confident that the 49 graduates represented in this pass out parade will join the many numbers of men and women to provide law enforcement services to our people.
Graduates, be aware that you have chosen to standout as defenders of our Constitution charged with the responsibility to ensure that our people are safe and secured. In this we take this opportunity to express our gratitude for the step that you have taken in choosing law enforcement as a career of choice.
We are committed to continue to recruit and train more traffic officers to continue with the mission to make our roads a safer place for all.
Ladies and Gentlemen
We are as part of our constitutional imperatives, still committed to a single police service. That is why today in this parade, together with the South African Police Service and other law enforcement agencies we are jointly overseeing this pass out parade.
Program director, allow me to take this opportunity to formally introduce the new Limpopo Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service.
Ke tla gopela motsamaisa modiro ayemise General Nneke Jim Ledwaba who joined our province since 1 May 2016. He is a seasoned officer in the SAPS with 32 years of unbroken service and experience.
Lieutenant - General Ledwaba was enlisted in the SAPS on 25 January 1984 and completed his basic Training on 04 July 1985 as a new Constable. General Ledwaba was promoted to the rank of Captain on 01 April 1997 and became a Superintendent on 01 July 2000. He became the Brigadier in 2005, Assistant Commissioner in 2009 and he was promoted to the rank of Major General in 2010.
He served in this role until when he was promoted to Lieutenant-General on 1 May 2016 as the Provincial Commissioner of Limpopo. Following his predecessor, Lt-general Fannie Masemola who has been promoted to the position of Deputy National Commissioner of Police.
General Ledwaba has worked experience include, the SAPS Academy, Human Resource Management, National Head Office Hammanskraal College, Pretoria central POP, Krugersdorp POP, Kagiso SAPS, Rustenburg Crime Prevention, he was Area Commissioner of Groot Marico, National Head Office Operational room, Station Commander of Atteridgeville, Rustenburg Cluster Commander, Ekurhuleni Cluster Commander, Tshwane Central Cluster Commander until his appointment as the Limpopo Provincial Commissioner.
In his life time career, the Commissioner was awarded with the following medals:
- SAPS Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Commemorative;
- SAPS ten year Commemoration medal (1995-2005)
- Soccer World Cup 2010 Support Medal
- SAPS 30 year Loyal Service Medal
Not trying to have the Provincial commissioner steal this pass out parade. I would like make a clarion call, to our citizens, members of SAPS, our community policing structures, to give our number one police officer the necessary support unreservedly.
It is our firm belief that together with our new recruits, the SAPS, the CPF and CPC and other law enforcement agencies, we will move South Africa towards a crime and public roads accidents free country.
As the Department of Transport, Safety and Security we are hard at work to improve the relationship between police and the communities as mandated
Let us go out and ensure peaceful, transparent and fair local government elections on 3 August 2016.
Re a leboga!!!
