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Date : 12/12/04
Source: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
Title: Cele: Inter-faith road safety prayer day

Speech by KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Mr Bheki Cele, at the Inter-Faith Road Safety Prayer Day, Empangeni


12 December 2004
All Protocol Observed
Our gathering here today is a culmination of similar events that we have been hosting all over the province in the past few weeks.

We have been to Port Shepstone, Pietermaritzburg, Durban and Ladysmith, and due to the high number of road deaths in the Empangeni Region over the past few months, we thought it fitting to host our final prayer day here.

We at the KZN Department of Transport are firmly of the belief that religious leaders must play a more active role in "spreading the gospel of road safety".

Religious denominations and organisations are a critical pillar of civil society, as they make a meaningful impact in shaping societal behaviour and attitudes.

I am delighted to see so many of us gathered here today together with religious leaders and their congregations from different religious faiths, who have come together to pray with officials from the Department of Transport, for divine intervention in our efforts to reduce deaths on our roads.

Representatives present here today, include various faiths such as Christians, Jews, Nazareth, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists and others, who have decided to join the Transport Department and unite in prayer, for a safe and accident free road environment.

Although, we all come from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds, our common aim today, is to pray to almighty God through Jesus, Buddha, Allah, Krishna and other names, to assist us in our efforts to reduce deaths on our roads, during the forthcoming festive season and beyond.

However, we cannot achieve this on our own.

Road Safety is not something you do to a community, but something that you do together with a community. We all know that enforcement alone will not work.

We need to encourage all road users to take full ownership of the problem of aggressive and unsafe driving practices, so that they can be part of the solution to modify the behaviour and attitude of all road users.

For far too long, there has been a perception that road safety was only government's responsibility. However, the time has come for that perception to be urgently corrected.

Road Safety is everybody's responsibility and it has become a moral and religious challenge for the 21st century. Therefore, due to the seriousness and urgency of this matter, I want to urge all religious leaders to ensure that road safety also becomes a spiritual issue, since road safety is also a matter of life and death.

In the Bible, Jesus told his disciples, "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46).

Jesus told his disciples that those who hear His words, and fail to do them, are like a house without a foundation that is destroyed when the storms come.

There are thousands of road users, who have heard our road safety messages over and over again, yet they fail to practise what they hear.

On the 19th of November, we unveiled our Road Safety Plan for the forthcoming festive period, at Umtentweni on the South Coast. The primary objective of our Road Safety Plan is to create a safe road environment, and to curb the number of road crashes, primarily through education and enforcement.

As many of you are aware, we have now moved from, "ZERO TOLERANCE 2 100% COMPLIANCE", for all road traffic laws.

Should there be anything less than 100% compliance, you can rest assured that you will be caught and punished. In the case of offences such as drunk driving, there is also the possibility that your motor vehicle will be forfeited.

We are also working closely with the department of justice and looking into imposing sentences of community service, instead of allowing offenders to be let off the hook by merely paying fines.

So make no mistake - just comply 100%. If you commit any traffic offence, you can rest assured that you will be caught and punished.

We have also changed the name of our "Omela Ngasekhaya" programme, to "Omela eKhaya". The reason is simply that, people who are under the influence of alcohol, are much safer right at their homes, than anywhere else.

During the festive season last year, 229 people (of which 127 or 45% were pedestrians) died on KZN's roads. In 2002 during the December holidays, 254 people died on the province's roads.

Over the years, an analysis of the causes of these crashes indicates that speed, alcohol, driver fatigue, reckless and negligent driving, un-roadworthy vehicles, pedestrian deaths and the attitude of road users require specific attention.

As the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport, part of our mandate is to create a safe road environment, through the reduction of deaths and crashes on the provinces' roads.

In conclusion, let us vigorously encourage members of our congregations to actively participate in this struggle against road crashes and deaths.

Proverbs 1:5 says, "A wise man will hear and will increase learning. And a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels".

Godly unity produces joy because it overcomes sorrow.

Let us build a people's contract for a safer KwaZulu-Natal by working together to reduce death on our roads.

In conclusion, let me take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year.

I thank you.

Media contact: Mawande Jubasi
Director: Media Liaison and Public Relations
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport
Cell: 082 805 5748
Website: www.kzntransport.gov.za

Issued by: Department of Transport, CommunitySafety and Liaison, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
12 December 2004     About the site
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