By staff reporter

Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison ((DCSSL) received an early Christmas with a donation of six (6) calibrated speed cameras and 15 breathalysers with 750 blowpipes from Anglo American Mine.

The handing over took place on 24 October in Mashishing.

Hennie Wood, a Safety, Health, Environment and Quality Manager at the Booysendal Platinum Mine, said that they have decided to join hands with the department to help improve road safety in the province.

“Our trucks use the road to and from our mines regularly. Some of the trucks are involved in the crashes that are recorded. We therefore cannot sit and watch without doing anything.”

“We hope that these equipments we are donating today will help improve road safety and increase traffic officers’ visibility on the roads,” he said.

According to him, since the beginning of the year, they have had 16 crashes involving their truck within the Mashishing and their Mine area.

“We know that it is sometimes our employees who transgress the law, and we will continue on our side to take disciplinary action against them. It is therefore important for us to collaborate to educate drivers and instill good driver behavior in them.

“We believe that these cameras we are donating today will be for a good cause to curb speeding. We don’t like fines as well, but it is of good cause if the fine is increased so that the lawbreakers can start feeling it and practice good behaviour,” he added.

Meanwhile, the DCSSL Transport Regulation General Manager, Sibandiso Nkuna, said that the department appreciates the donation, saying it will go a long way to save lives on the roads.

“Private partnerships are important to government to improve service delivery. We need more commitment from the private sector to assist the department in fighting the scourge of road crashes.

“Most crashes are head-on collision, sideswipe, and loss of control. This is an indication that most of these crashes that we record on the roads are a result of drunk driving and speed. These equipments donated will go a long way to curb this bad behaviour from drivers,” he said.

Nkuna added that the Mine will form a forum where information will be shared on how to improve road safety in the area.

The Mine also committed to train ten (10) traffic officers to operate the speed cameras.