Picture: A horrific accident that claimed lives/Generic
By OBAKENG MAJE
North West MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Sello Lehari said, nine lives have been lost on the North West roads since 1 April 2023. Lehari said this is the same number of fatalities the province recorded for the same period last year.
“The only fatality recorded on the eve of Good Friday was in Ikageng Township, near Potchefstroom, where a boy (12) was hit by a car. The enraged community members became aggressive towards the two occupants of the vehicle and torched their car.
“They were rescued by the law enforcement officers. Other eight lives were lost in Mogopela village, near Taung, three in Ledig near Mogwase, and two in Lichtenburg. There is also a growing trend of pedestrians who are hit by vehicles and most of them seemingly coming from hostelries,” he said.
Lehari sent his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. He also appealed to pedestrians to be extra careful when crossing roads, especially at night.
“We have instructed the law enforcement officers to strictly apply the traffic regulations. They should not be lenient on any deviancy but do so within the confines of the law.
“We want to reduce the fatalities by at least 25%, as we reduced them by 21% during the Christmas holidays. We can do so by being visible on all arterial roads”, said Lehari.
He has been leading joint law enforcement operations throughout the province since the beginning of April 2023. Lehari further said, almost 3000 vehicles were stopped and searched in these operations.
“We can also confirm that 15 undocumented people were also arrested and handed over to the Immigration officials. Law enforcement operations will continue on all major arterial and local routes,” he said.
According to information at Taung DailyNews’ disposal, no fatalities reported in Mogopela village thus far. However, eight people died last year during the same period in the area. Taung DailyNews could not get hold of the North West Community Safety and Transport Management spokesperson, Alpheus Koonyaditse to clarify the matter as his phone was constantly on voicemail before going to print.
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