KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Bheki Ntuli, has called on road users to fully adhere to the nation-wide lockdown regulations and avoid unnecessary movements to curb the loss of human lives on the road.
MEC Ntuli’s comment comes in the wake of a fatal accident that took place after midnight, which was a clear violation of the regulations for a National lockdown as announced by the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday, 23 March 2020.
Preliminary reports revealed that a minibus taxi, collided head-on with a truck on R56 in Richmond, outside Pietermaritzburg resulting in the death of six people and scores of people sustained serious injuries. Survivors of this fatal crash are receiving high medical care and attention at various hospitals in Pietermaritzburg.
MEC Ntuli has already directed that a thorough investigation must be conducted into the violations of the lockdown regulations and wants a detailed explanation is to why both vehicles were on the road at the reported time.
“We want answers as to why these vehicles were on the road after midnight, unless if there were essential services being performed. With regard to public transport, there are clear guidelines that minibus-taxis, metered taxis and e-hailing vehicles must operate between 05h00 – 09h00 and again between 16h00 – 20h00. The owner of the vehicle must explain to us why the vehicle was on the road at that time and he must take full responsibility. If the regulations were taken seriously and adhered to, peoples’ lives would have been saved. We have also sanction a forensic investigation into the cause of the crash,” commented Ntuli.
It is reported that the minibus taxi was travelling from Gauteng to Eastern Cape.
MEC Ntuli also expressed his deepest condolences to the affected families, saying the province will work with Eastern Cape Province to provide assistance.
MEC Ntuli said government was engaging with public transport providers, including taxi industry leadership and bus industry to increase the number of vehicles during the permitted hours to ensure that people are transported on time and arrive at their destinations safely. This will be done while adhering to the stipulated numbers of commuters per vehicle.
As part of clamping down on lawlessness and disregard of the regulations, MEC Ntuli has directed law enforcement authorities to stop every mode of transport that will be on the road beyond the stipulated hours, saying compliance was non-negotiable.
Government will also have further engagements with the public transport industry to discuss issues of concern to ensure that transportation of essential services is not disrupted.