Golden Investement Business Park, Pietemaritzburg: Today, we inspected 150 of the buses and minibuses that provide scholar transport to 77 369 learners who are expected to walk more than 3 kilometers to 433 schools.
They were all found in good condition.
Although we are satisfied with the state of readiness and the condition of the fleet we inspected, we have mandated the Road Traffic Inspectorate and other law enforcement agencies across the province to be on full alert and do spot checks.
Flowing from above, more law enforcement operations and inspections of scholar transport will be conducted by our highly efficient team from RTI in more than 26 satellite stations.
During the festive season, we rolled out a successful road safety operation that ensured the enforcement of the law and the visibility of law enforcement officers. We want to sustain this visibility as we reopen schools to ensure the safety of future leaders.
Our view is that those who are transporting learners must know that they are carrying the future of this province. Only the strongest shoulders, of disciplined individuals, can carry and fulfill the hopes of the nation.
Regretable, many communities have been affected as a result of damage to road infrastructure, bridges, and human settlements. This follows a prolonged heavy rainfall that started on the 31st December. Despite limited resources, we are making all efforts to turn around the situation. Teams from both departments are doing assessments of damage and doing verification of affected families.
Lastly, it is our hope that in the coming year, we will get more budget to provide scholar transport to more than 157 538 learners who are on the waiting list. The budget required for this purpose is estimated at R1.6 billion
Issued by the MEC for Transport and Human Settlements