Managing Executive of Durban Port, Moshe Motlohi, and Port Manager, Nompumelo Dweba-Kwetana, recently addressed fellow mourners during the memorial service held at the Cruise Terminal for the late Khulekani Xaba, his wife and four children.
Xaba was an employee at Transnet and was tragically killed in a head-on collision on the N11 in Ladysmith, near Model Kloof, on 16 July. Xaba, the son of Deputy Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga, was killed alongside his wife, Zinhle, and their four children.
The DA has since called upon departments to find working solutions on roads in the KZN area. They have received an assurance from KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Transport Portfolio Committee Chairperson, Siboniso Mtshali, that the Department of Transport will be called to account following the horrific carnage on the province’s roads, that has made national headlines. The move follows a call by the DA after 24 people tragically lost their lives as a result of separate incidents in less than five days.
A police officer who was directing traffic and 10 others were killed in a crash involving a minibus, police vehicle and other cars on the R617 near Mpophomeni. In another separate incident, six people were killed and four injured in a multiple-vehicle crash on the N11 near Dundee. Another crash took place on the P291 between Nquthu and Babanago, where a minibus taxi and a car are believed to have collided and caught alight. Seven people died, including a 12-year-old while 12 others were injured and taken to hospital.
The DA extends its sincere condolences to the families and friends who have lost loved ones. “We pray that they will find the strength to get through this difficult time. We also wish those in the hospital a speedy recovery,” said Sharon Hoosen, MPL, DA KZN Spokesperson for Transport.
She said that the carnage on our roads has reached epidemic proportions and the DoT has been silent for some time on road safety measures.
“The DA’s intention at the next portfolio committee will be to establish what strategies the DoT has in place to reduce the current severe loss of life. In the interim, we urge acting MEC, Jomo Sibiya, and his department to act swiftly to ensure the following: Proper road maintenance on all provincial roads; speed reduction measures including speed humps or cameras and high visibility of law enforcement on all major routes, particularly so-called hotspots.
“It is very clear that this department needs a comprehensive intensified safety strategy, with a clearly articulated road safety plan if it is to fight this scourge. It is time that this department woke up and acted with urgency. KZN’s people can no longer place their lives in danger every time they travel on our roads,” concluded Hoosen.
