Colleagues and friends
It is such a privilege to gather with you today and honour the memory of all those who have tragically lost their lives in road traffic crashes.
And so importantly, to stand together with all the loved ones left behind to grieve. We do not forget your grief and the loss you have experienced. May you be comforted today and always, knowing that there is a whole community across the world who remember you in their hearts and prayers.
I know you will all agree with me that the only way to tackle road safety is collectively. As the Western Cape Government, we are grateful for excellent partnerships in this space.
Thank you, Zaitoon, Patrick and the ChildSafe team for your hard work and passion, alongside other incredible role players working together for safer mobility in our province.
I especially want to acknowledge the remarkable men and women who work in emergency services and enforcement and are the first responders on the scene of traffic crashes. These teams can be the difference between an injury and death.
It is heartbreaking for me that even with our significant collaborative efforts to improve road safety, we still face a dire situation on our roads.
This is no easy task, and it requires grit and determination to keep pushing forward. My prayer is that as we remember all the victims and their loved ones today, this will light a renewed fire for our collective efforts and draw in new partners and champions.
We need to see harsher consequences for those who are responsible for road traffic crashes, to see justice for the victims.
We need better support for these victims and their families.
We need to promote evidence-based actions to prevent and eventually stop further road traffic deaths and injuries.
We need to see road safety being taken seriously during the design phase when new buildings and developments are conceptualised!
I could continue – the scope of work required is immense.
But where there are new champions emerging, there is hope.
When I was appointed earlier this year as the Western Cape Minister of Mobility, I made it my mission for people to be able to get to work safely, and children to be able to get to school safely.
This is what so many of our Mobility Department programmes are about.
A critical part of children’s journeys to and from school is the immediate area surrounding
the school where learners must navigate traffic on foot.
We know the realities of these spaces. Roads are often not designed to prioritise pedestrians. Reckless drivers who do not prioritise the safety of these precious young lives.
Think of Stellenbosch Arterial just around the corner. This is a high-risk road for pedestrians.
Being in Belhar today to commemorate the World Day of Remembrance is significant as our Mobility Department is currently part of ChildSafe’s transformative project to make these spaces safer for children walking to and from school.
We are working alongside the Western Cape Education Department, City of Cape Town, and others to create Safe School Zones for child pedestrians around 14 schools in Belhar and Delft.
This exciting project is making changes to road infrastructure, introducing default 30 km/h speed limits in these school zones, combined with road safety training, education and awareness for children, teachers and the broader Delft and Belhar communities.
This is the power of partnership in action. Working together is how we make progress and keep persevering to see meaningful change on our roads.
I want to commend our Road Safety Management team, for their passion and dedication as they run education and awareness activities across the Western Cape.
While we are gathered here in Belhar, the team is in Thembalethu in George leading a commemoration service for World Day of Remembrance in a community also facing alarmingly high numbers of traffic crashes.
More broadly, I want to encourage everyone actively campaigning to create safer conditions for vulnerable road users. Each contribution to the collective cause is invaluable.
As the Western Cape Government, we are firmly committed to these partnerships, and will continue our work to ensure that children can get to school safely, and prevent the trauma of road traffic crashes.
We firmly believe that even one life lost in a road traffic incident is one too many.
In closing, I want to honour the memory of each person who has lost their life or been injured on our roads. I pray for comfort for the families and all those affected by the tragedies of road traffic crashes.
God bless you.