Nelspruit - Mpumlanga MEC for Community Safety, Security and Liaison Vusi Shongwe used the occasion of the opening of Road Accident Fund’s (RAF) newest Customer Service Centre at Nelspruit’s Canary Mall to make an impassioned plea to stop the “needless carnage” on the province’s roads.
Shongwe said he was concerned about the province’s high road death toll and emphasised that road safety was the responsibility of everyone in the community.
Shongwe, who lost his own daughter in a car accident in Ermelo a year ago, welcomed the fact that the RAF’s services were now more easily accessible to citizens in Nelspruit, and in the province.
“The carnage on our roads continues unabated, resulting in the death of breadwinners and loved ones. Homes are disintegrating, leaving families and the nation devastated because innocent lives are being lost,” Shongwe said.
“We must work together to eradicate these road crashes. Road safety remains everybody’s business and with increased co-operation, including extra vigilance, we can all make our roads much safer.”
RAF CEO Dr Eugene Watson said that the RAF was concerned at the high number of incidents that involved children, pointing to global statistics indicating that the “leading cause of death in the world in the 15-30 age group being road crashes”.
“It is imperative that adults be on the lookout for youngsters when driving on the road,” he said.
Shongwe said: “As a firm advocate of service delivery, it is important that services provided by a public entity like RAF be made accessible to all road users.”
Mpumalanga residents who were involved in a road accident and made a claim could make use of the existing network of nine RAF Hospital Service Centres in the province, five regional offices, five CSCs, as well as satellite offices or walk-in-centres.
African News Agency
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