Police, Roads, and Transport non-responsive on Easter Campaign casualties while Health records 96

Staff reporter

Bloemfontein – The Department of Community Safety, Roads and Transport is again in the spotlight, and this time around it is not about a change of MEC or HoD or a string of court cases mainly defeats, but about failure to report on its Easter Road Safety campaign.

The launch which happened very late on Thursday, a day before Easter Weekend focused more on visibility with MEC MaQueen Mathae posing for pictures with motorists as seen on the department’s Facebook page.

Despite launching the campaign late the department is also late to release the report of the campaign but the accident report from the Department of Health shares details and numbers, titled Easter 2023 Accident stats:

Pedestrian involved 27
Overturned 29
Animal involved 2
Head of collision 16
TOTAL 74

TOTAL CASUALTIES
Critical injuries 31
Moderate injuries 36
Minor injuries 29
Dead on arrival 9
TOTAL 96

On Monday an ambulance carrying a 9-month-old baby hit a pothole on the N8 next to Tweespruit on its way from Ladybrand with two crew members sustaining moderate and minor injuries while the baby was reported unharmed.

The Free State roads especially the R26 remain a thorn in motorists as its full of potholes, this road stretches from Ladybrand to Reitz, a distance of 216 km, and has been neglected for years.

Following the allocation of the budget last month of R3.339 billion, further R3.117 billion for 2024/25, and R3.232 billion for 2025/26 there is no reason why R26 can’t be fixed completely.

According to construction rates, it costs R11 million for 1km and if the department was to fix the entire 216 km it would come to R2.376 billion.

With the department previously returning money to Treasury because it could not use the allocated budget, we shall monitor how this budget is spent.

The department has had three MECs in the past 4 years after Sam Mashinini was sacked falling the political factions and his successor William Bulwane was recently reshuffled and replaced by the incumbent, Mathae.

Other than that the former Premier, Sefora Ntombela suspended former HoD, Sipho Mtakati over alleged failure to maintain roads and since his golden handshake the roads have still not been maintained.

Hilary Mophethe, spokesperson for the department did not respond to our questions.

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