• DA calls for full-scale investigation, extends its deepest condolences to those who have lost loved ones.
• As part of KZN’s GPU, we will continue to call for an overhaul of the DoT and hold the MEC and officials to account for ongoing loss of life.
Note to Editors: Please note Riona Gokool, MPL sound bite in English
The DA will write to KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Transport MEC, Siboniso Duma, to call for a full-scale investigation into yesterday’s horrific N2 bus crash near Mandeni, which has claimed the lives of nine people including a four-year-old child.
According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), early reports suggest that the crash was due to a tyre failure which caused the driver to lose control.
The DA extends its deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and we stand in solidarity with all who have been affected by the devastatingly high number of incidents on KZN’s roads.
Every life lost on our roads is a reminder of the profound grief that ripples through our communities, and we must never forget the human cost of these incidents.
The sobering reality is that while lives continue to be lost on an almost daily basis, there remains a lack of meaningful action by KZN’s Department of Transport (DoT) to address the root causes of such accidents.
Year after year, the DoT makes the same promises around increased road safety measures, yet nothing changes. Our roads remain hazardous, with outdated infrastructure and a law enforcement that is stretched thin.
It is clear that the DoT has failed to take decisive action to prevent further loss of life.
The DA will continue to call for a complete overhaul of this department which is plagued by shoddy workmanship, inflated and exorbitant contracts, wasteful expenditure and blatant neglect of our province’s roads.
As part of KZN’s Government of Provincial Unity we remain committed to holding government to account for this failure to safeguard the lives of our citizens.