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Ladies and gentleman, allow me to take this opportunity to thank the following people for attending the imbizo focus programme here at tshepisong:

MEC for Transport, Roads and Public Works in Gauteng, Comrade Khabisi Mosunkutu;
The executive mayor of Mogale City Municipality, Advocate Mokgatle;
The mayoral committee;
The ward committees;
Councillors;
The CEO of the National Roads Agency, Mr Nazir Alli;
Senior officials from national, provincial and local governments;
The organisers of this event;
Parents, teachers, learners and members of the Tshepisong community;
The school governing body;
Distinguished guests; and
Ladies and gentleman.

I must say this event would not have been possible without your participation and making your valuable time to be here today. The fact that you are here to share your experiences with us makes a big difference.

Why Imbizo Focus Week?

As you may be aware government has dedicated this week to be what is called Imbizo Focus Week. Today, as Minister of Transport, and together with officials from my department, provincial and local government, we are here at Tshepisong to listen to your concerns. I am not the only Minister deployed this week; in fact the entire Cabinet (Ministers) is deployed to various parts of the country. This is a clear indication of how serious we take this event.

Today is your day. We are here to hear to your concerns, and not only that, but also to get input from yourselves. It is from your inputs that as government we can improve on the services that we render. It is our firm believe that it is by engaging yourselves in processes such as this, that we can enrich our programmes.

Why have we chosen Tshepisong?

As you know I am the Minister responsible for transport. My presence here is mainly to listen to your road safety concerns and many other related issues. I want to start by saying that the idea of consistent accident prevention, which means that nobody needs and nobody must suffer serious injury or death on the road remains the biggest challenge in our country. As government our position is that the road transport system should be so safe that nobody can suffer serious harm from it. As it is a man-made system, neither fatalities nor serious injuries can be accepted any longer. The target of government is not merely a substantial reduction but a complete elimination of the number of accident victims.

We have chosen to visit Tshepisong because we have received reports that indicate a sad state of affairs. The reports indicate that the area has a high rate of fatalities and injuries, which involves learners in particular. It has already been reported to us that plus minus 14 children were either killed or injured over the last two years, while crossing Main Reef Road. Many of these victims we are told, are school children. That is why I am here today to see how as government we can assist you. We understand your problems, and it is our intention to help wherever it is possible.

How as government do we respond to the problems on our roads?

There must be a change in behaviour if we are to realise a reduction or complete elimination of road accidents on our roads.

We know that the road transport system was not designed in such a way that it is adapted to pedestrians: children who are too young to recognise the dangers, adults who make mistakes despite their awareness or senior citizens who can no longer cope with the complexity of traffic. It is the duty of civil engineers in road safety matters to ensure that mobility on our roads no longer harbours any serious hazards for all road users.

The desire for safety cannot be permanently anchored in society without an awareness of the risks involved. This process is and remains a matter for education and influence, which will be an even greater challenge for us now and in future.

We know that there are drivers who are not responsible when on the road. Some behave as if the road belongs to them alone and no one else. And that we have to change!

We are aware of the fact safe behaviour can be achieved directly with the help f road safety education and influential marketing strategies. Some of the programmes are already in place like our Arrive Alive campaign and will remain in place, in order to increase popular acceptance of our safety endeavours. Already the following programmes are running in various parts of the country:

* Pedestrian visibility programmes: which involves the buying of reflective strips and distributing to hundreds of schools around the country.

* Scholar patrol: which normally runs in the morning and afternoon, so that school children can pass some of the more dangerous spots in a safe manner.

* Improvement of hazardous areas: this programmes involves the upgrading of the road infrastructure to suit the needs of pedestrian and motorists.

* Road safety education: which involves the basic teaching of road safety in chools and communities.

Message to the community

As government we have been propagating the message that motorists should have a heart and give pedestrians a chance. For we believe that we must all be responsible road users and share the road responsibly.

Our observations during peak hours (morning and afternoon) have indicated that pedestrians in this area are not behaving appropriately nor sharing the road responsibly. Pedestrians ignore road signs whilst motorists drive above the speed limit set for this road, in this case 60 km per hour. We are aware that the R41/Main Reef Road has inadequate pedestrian facilities. To alleviate this problem whilst comprehensive plans are drawn, Mogale City has played an important role by providing traffic wardens at T-junctions and crossroads for your safety. Unfortunately, we have noted that pedestrians ignore these traffic wardens and cross anywhere they like. This type of crossing exposes them to more danger and can lead to unnecessary pain, injuries or death. We appeal to all pedestrians crossing the R41/Main Reef Road to co-operate with the traffic wardens while other traffic calming measures and pedestrian facilities are being planned.

It is also very important to respect and take ownership of the infrastructure provided to you. If you remove the road signs on the road, you destroy the means of communication amongst the road users. Hence, we are appealing for a culture of law compliance amongst road users.

Drivers should consider their driving habits and resolve right now to be good role models. It is never too early or late to instil good road manners. Do you always wear your seatbelt and insist that your passengers do the same? Do you drive recklessly; do you overtake a slow moving vehicle when it is unsafe or illegal to do so? Do you take pedestrians into consideration? Do you exceed the speed limit? Are you aggressive or impatient? Remember that your children see this from an early age and believe that such behaviour is acceptable.

In conclusion, I am of the view that ultimately it will be encouraging seeing our children playing outside their houses just as safely as indoors and the journey to and from school being no longer hazardous.

I thank all of you for participating in this important event.

Source: Department of Transport (http://www.transport.gov.za)