South Africa: The Minister of Transport, Minister Fikile Mbalula, has learnt with a great shock of the horrific accident which claimed the lives of 21 lives in UPhongolo. “We have come to know, with great sadness, of the horrific accident which claimed the lives of multiple scholars who were on their way back from school on Friday afternoon,” said Minister Mbalula.
“We received this terrible news yesterday evening. Most of the victims are school children making this more heartbreaking. I send my condolences to the families of all the victims. Road Safety continues to be a priority of our government. Working with traffic law enforcement at all spheres of government, we coordinate our plans to prevent road crashes like these. Their occurrence sends a chilling message to all South Africans to adhere to all road safety laws and corporate with law enforcement,” Minister Mbalula said.
Minister wishes to convey condolences to the families of the diseased who lost their lives in a collision between a motor vehicle and a heavy motor vehicle. “We will be working alongside our Road Traffic Management Corporation to investigate the causes of the accident and ensure that those liable for the incident are held responsible,” said Minister.
Minister also extends his thoughts to those who are currently injured and wishes them a speedy recovery.
The loss of young lives on our roads is one which is extremely saddening, and the Minister wishes to reaffirm to the nation that the Department of Transport, through its Road Traffic Management Corporation, will ensure that following an investigation, those held liable for the N2 collision will indeed be brought to book.
The Minister is getting updates as there are still developments on the road crash. He has been informed that both the MECs of Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Sipho Hlomuka, as well as the MEC for Education, Mbali Fraser, in KwaZulu Natal are leading government efforts to provide an immediate response to the families.