16 Sep 2013

The Jwaneng district has been cited as one of the leading areas in road accidents.

Addressing a Jwaneng Road Safety Committee capacity building workshop recently, Assistant Superintendent Ernest Sesinyi said their area continued to record an increase in number of road accidents each year.

He noted that from January to August this year, a total of 213 road accidents were recorded in the area, from which six people died, 10 were seriously injured while 18 experienced minor injuries. This, he said, was a huge number as compared to last year where they recorded 138 accidents around the same period.

He said from those recorded last year, only one person died, four were badly injured while nine had minor injuries. Assistant supt. Sesinyi further noted that over speeding was one of the factors that contribute to a high number of road accidents in the district, adding that most drivers drive at a high speed even though the road surface is not flat.

“There are road signs that indicate the bumpiness of the road, but people choose to ignore those signs” he said. He also urged vehicle owners to desist from giving vehicles to unlicensed people to avoid unnecessary accidents.
The principal assistant district officer Mr Tshepo Mogojwe also expressed the same concerns about the high number of road accidents in his area.

He said the fact that Jwaneng had been chosen to host this year’s World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic victims was clear indication that the district was faced with a challenge.
Mr Mogojwe, who is also the deputy chairperson of the Jwaneng district road safety committee underscored the need for different stakeholders, including heads of government departments to cooperate and work together to change the status quo.

He decried declining membership of the committee, saying departments were reluctant to send representatives even though road safety was a crucial issue.

“There is need for cooperation for us to attain the goals of the Decade of Action for Road Safety from 2011 to 2020, which is why as a committee we try by all means to engage different stakeholders at different fora,” he explained. Ends