Hon Speaker, the ANC commends the Mpumalanga province for its determination and commitment to reducing road accidents in the province by 5% within six months. This was revealed at the launch of the Think Pedestrian project recently. Statistically about 14 000 people are killed in road accidents annually. Moreover, out of those 14 000 people who are killed in road accidents every year, 46% are pedestrians, while 54% are drivers and passengers.
This situation therefore warrants our acting swiftly to avoid high fatalities, especially on the Moloto road, or R573, which has a known history of a high number of fatal accidents. Thus, road safety operations will be conducted on the road every Friday and police and traffic officers will conduct roadblocks.
Furthermore, pedestrians found drunk and walking on the road at night will be arrested and kept in custody until the following morning.
The ANC welcomes this initiative and believes that it will go a long way to decreasing the high number of road accidents, especially during the festive season. It is hoped that this kind of initiative would continue throughout the year. Thank you. [Applause.]