Following the horror accident that claimed the lives of twelve learners last Monday, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy and Deputy Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa are calling for stricter policing.
The head-on collision, which involved a scholar transport minibus taxi and a truck, occurred on the R553 Golden Highway in Vanderbijlpark.
The ministers have since instructed traffic law enforcement agencies, which include the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) National Traffic Police, to increase law enforcement operations.
They called for an intensified focus on scholar transport throughout the country, stressing the importance of policing overloading, roadworthiness and speeding.
Creecy and Hlengwa stated that a lack of law enforcement operations focusing on scholar transport has brought the country’s scholar transport service “to its knees”.
The ministers are calling on scholar transport operators, buses, and taxi associations to “get their act together” or face the law.
The City of Johannesburg has announced that it has since impounded “scores of vehicles that were found to be overloaded and structurally unsound”.
The Transport ministers encouraged all departments involved with scholar transport to adhere to the National Road Safety Strategy.
This strategy outlines the importance of addressing overloading and roadworthiness tests of all vehicles.
The Department of Transport confirmed that it is close to finalising the review of the National Learner Transport Policy, which aims to tackle issues relating to the access and safety of learner transport.
The 22-year-old scholar transport driver responsible for the crash was arrested following his release from hospital, and now faces multiple murder charges, as well as reckless and negligent driving.
An accessibility problem
The Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Appropriations, Dr Mmusi Maimane, described the incident as a painful reminder of the daily dangers facing many learners as they try to access education.
He added that the tragedy should never have happened, and that the loss of young lives in this manner is heartbreaking and deeply disturbing.
Maimane said the incident highlights long-standing and systemic challenges in scholar transport across the country.
The committee frequently performs oversight visits, through which it has identified scholar transport as a critical weakness in basic education that places learners’ safety at risk.
It called on the Department of Transport to engage with the Department of Basic Education to address scholar transport provision, safety standards, adequate funding and regulatory oversight.
Maimane said the committee has observed consistent patterns across all nine provinces.
“This includes insufficient funding for scholar transport, limited coverage that forces learners to walk long distances, and the use of unsafe or unregulated private transport,” he said.
“Where transport is provided, there are ongoing concerns about overcrowding, unroadworthy vehicles and inadequately licenced drivers.”
He noted that collaboration is the key to resolving the national scholar transport shortcomings.
“We must work together to find long-term, sustainable solutions that ensure learner transport is safe, dependable, properly regulated and adequately funded,” Maimane said.
“If we fail to act with urgency, we risk more preventable tragedies like this one.”
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