Government will be rolling out a programme to effectively stop all forms of corrupt activities in the transport system, Transport Minister Dikobe Ben Martins announced this week.
Government will be rolling out a programme to effectively stop all forms of corrupt activities in the transport system, Transport Minister Dikobe Ben Martins announced this week.
“We are going to enforce a major programme pertaining to [fighting]corruption. We want to get rid of the scourge of corrupt traffic officers on the side of our roads who are accepting bribes.
“People involved in corruption should be arrested and sent straight to prison. We can’t tolerate corruption in our ranks. We must deal with corruption without fear or favour.
“Those people who pass unroadworthy vehicles and put them on our roads will also face the full mighty of the law. Those who accept bribes by empowering people who are not well trained or not trained at all to drive by providing them with fraudulent drivers licences will be exposed,” the minister said.
Speaking at the launch of the 2012 Transport Month in Soweto on Monday, Martins said those who were buying fraudulent drivers’ licences were contributing to road fatalities.
Through Transport Month, Martins said the government wants to emphasise safety in all modes of transport systems in the country.
“We want to emphasise the importance of safety in the air, on the roads as well as on sea. October is declared Transport Month, but road safety should not and cannot be restricted to this month, but throughout the year.”
The Department of Transport and all its provincial departments are embarking on a major programme to enforce road safety, he said. This year the campaign’s theme is 'Working together to provide a safe and reliable transport system’.
The October Transport Month campaign was officially declared in 2005 during the Transport Lekgotla.
It is aimed at raising awareness on the important role of transport in the economy, to solicit participation from civil society and businesses in providing a more affordable, safer, accessible and reliable transport system.
Through the campaign, the department also highlights the role and successes of all stakeholders in creating safe modes of transport and contributions towards socio-economic development innovations. – SAnews.gov.za
