Pretoria - Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele has called on South Africans to play a leading role in the United Nations (UN) Decade of Action against Road Deaths to be officially launched world-wide during May 2011.
"There is war on our roads and we must win this war against road deaths... Every municipality, school, church, mosque and temple must ask which 1 000 is going to die on our roads during March? Who is going to be the killer and who is going to be the deceased?
"Disobeying road rules is a shame. We must reach a stage where we obey road rules through voluntary compliance and self-consciousness and not merely law enforcement. In South Africa, we are not anywhere near that. There is still a lot of work to be done with regards to self-consciousness. We need renewed enthusiasm and energy on road safety. Road safety is everybody's responsibility. Together, let us all do our part," said Ndebele.
The minister made the call on Saturday at the closing of a three-day Transport Lekgotla held in Cape Town from Thursday. Approximately 300 delegates attended, including Transport MECs, Portfolio Committee Members, Mayoral Committee Members, Heads of Departments and CEOs of various transport agencies, among others.
Key issues discussed at the lekgotla included road safety and traffic management, road infrastructure with specific focus on road maintenance and potholes, public transport, economic infrastructure and communication and stakeholder management.
The transport action plan for the new financial year (2011/12) emanating from the lekgotla will be presented to the Transport MinMec for adoption.
Meanwhile on Friday, 12 people were reported killed and several others injured in a road crash between a mini-bus taxi and truck near the Strijdom Tunnel in the Willows in Limpopo.
"We want to convey condolences to the families and relatives of those killed in the horrific road crash in Limpopo ... and wish those injured a speedy recovery," said the minister.
