KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr. Bheki Cele will host a Christmas Party for 111 Street Children from different shelters in Durban on Wednesday 14 December 2005 at 10 am.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr. B.H. Cele will officially unveil the 2005 Summer Holiday Road Safety plan on Tuesday 29 November 2005 at the Mooi River Toll Plaza at 8 am. This is aimed at outlining a detailed programme of education and enforcement operations for the province in gearing up for an effective road safety campaign for the forthcoming festive season.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr B.H. Cele, will on Sunday the 13^th of November, at Richmond Primary school, 09h00 am embark on a Siyabakhumbula prayer meeting in memory of the victims of road crashes in the area of Richmond and surroundings. The prayer will be attended by different churches and different religious denominations to commemorate the lives of victims of road accidents and to push forward the strong message of road safety to all motorists and pedestrians.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr. B.H. Cele will conduct an official opening of Main Road P 50/3 which has been built at a total cost of R38, 694 million. The upgrading of P50/3 forms part of a larger road upgrading initiative within Nkandla, under the umbrella of the Department’s African Renaissance Roads Upgrading Programme (ARRUP).

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr. B. H. Cele will conduct an official opening of Jojozi River Bridge at Emhlungwane in Nquthu.

The R3, 8 Million Project was constructed and completed in a period of 8 months and will provide safe crossing to +/- 500 schools children who used to suffer on rainy weather. The construction of Jojozi River Bridge has created job opportunities which have contributed in skills development to local people hence boosting the economy.

The Unique Iris Scanner System and the use of CCTV audio and visual recording are aimed at rooting out fraud and corruption in the issuing of learners and drivers licences.

(Further details will be made available closer to the date of the event.)

The objective of this event is to recognize and promote individuals with outstanding performance in the Maritime Industry. (Further details will be made available closer to the date of the event.)

The purpose of this event is to launch the Department’s Keep Left Pass Right initiative as a national campaign. (Further details will be made available closer to the date of the event.)

The purpose of the prayer day is to bring different faiths and religions together to pray for road safety.
(Further details will be made available closer to the date of the event.)

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport Community, Safety and Liaison Mr. Bheki Cele will conduct a sod turning ceremony of the Okhula river bridge at Emacekane near Empangeni on Saturday 22 October 2005; this follows an outcry from members of the community requesting the department to build a river bridge after years of suffering.

The bridge will cost approximately R3 million and its construction will be completed in a period of six months. The road serves three of the Amakhosi areas (Emacekena or Somopho, Obizo, Mambuka) and 8 schools with an estimated population of 20 000 who cannot access basic services.

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sbu Ndebele and all the cabinet MEC’s including members of parliament will be in full support of Car-Free Day on Thursday 20/10/05 at Port Shepstone Taxi Rank from 7 am.

This follows the government’s initiative of promoting public transport as an effective and efficient mode of transport furthermore to champion the speedy transformation of public transport services.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr. Bheki Cele will host Zibambele Indaba tomorrow 18/10/05 at KwaNxamalala Sports Field – Impendle at 9am as part of his programme of creating a forum for discussing issues of poverty alleviation, job creation and sustainable development with transport stakeholders.

(Further details will be made available closer to the date of the event.)

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr Bheki Cele will attend the official hand over of 35 SCANIA Buses to Ikhwezi Bus Service at Kuleka Depot, Bronze Road at Empangeni.

KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport is the first province to introduce the highly technological computerised system; however the significance of launching the campaign in Ngwavuma is particularly to accelerate service delivery programmes aimed at developing the rural poor communities.

As part of Public Transport Month Activities, KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr Bheki Cele will conduct a SOD turning ceremony of Sqandulweni Pedestrian Bridge over Umkomaas River on Friday 07 October 2005 at 9 am. This follows concerns from the community requesting the KZN Department of Transport to intervene and provide the long awaited pedestrian bridge in the area.

The Upgrading of John Ross Highway to four lanes with an estimated cost of R350 Million was a National project which was declared a toll road in 2003. This raised a huge debate and public pressure which resulted in the abandonment of the project. The multi-million project was strategically handed over to be a provincial road.

The purpose of the prayer day is to bring different faiths and religions together to pray for road safety.
(Further details will be made available closer to the date of the event.)

(Further details will be made available closer to the date of the event.)

(Further details will be made available closer to the date of the event.)

MEC Cele will be embarking on provincial Siyabakhumbula Prayer Days, which will take place throughout the province in memory of all victims of road accidents in KwaZulu-Natal. During the month of October the prayer days will coincide with Transport Month under the theme "Transport - the beat of SA’s economy".

MEC Cele will attend the first provincial Siyabakhumbula prayer day under Durban Region at KwaXimba Sports Ground. The Department’s intention is to consolidate the relationship with civil society institutions and in particular to focus on securing the support of all religious leaders in KwaZulu-Natal to ensure that the culture of road safety truly becomes everybody’s responsibility.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport Community, Safety and Liaison Mr Bheki Cele will conduct a sod turning ceremony of the Tonyelani River Bridge in Bergville. This follows MEC Cele’s visit to Bergville earlier this year where members of the community under the leadership of Inkosi Hlongwane requested that the Department build a river bridge after six children were reported drowned from trying to cross the river.

Further details on the conference can be viewed at: http://www.kzntransport.gov.za/AfricaT2Conf/index.htm

(Further details will be made available closer to the date of the event.)

(Further details will be made available closer to the date of the event.)

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr. Bheki Cele will host an Imbizo at KwaDukuza and KwaMaphumulo on Sunday 14 August 2005 at Sabuyazi Stadium in KwaMaphumulo at 9h00 and Luthuli Centre at 12pm in KwaDukuza.

The purpose of the meeting is for the MEC to address communities about the current situation in KwaDukuza and KwaMaphumulo this follows the suspension of the Taxi Operations on Sunday last week pending the outcome of the Special Tribunal which will expedite the process and end the ongoing violence which has lasted for more than 15 years killing innocent passengers, drivers and owners." I will ensure public safety in any given situation, and also ensure that the silent majority is heard" Cele said.

MEC for Transport, Community Safety & Liaison, Bheki Cele will launch the Community Information Train with the aim of educating commuters about safety while traveling via train. Metrorail is experiencing a serious problem of commuters who engage in staff riding, standing near open doors while the train is in motion, standing between the carriages and walking on or along the railway line.

The community Information Train will be taken to thousands of people within the eThekwini area to interact and enhance their way of living through sharing information on rail safety, health safety awareness, education, employment and job creation opportunities.

The schedule is as follows:

The Media Road Show was hosted as a joint venture between the National Department of Works, and the co-ordinating EPWP unit in the Province, the KZN Department of Transport. The road show included visits, by the National Minister of Public Works, Ms Stella Sigcau, to a number of implementation projects in different EPWP sectors in the Province including the Labour Based Project at Ongoye – Construction of Nkonjane Local Access Road, eThekwini Labour Intensive Construction Learnership Programme, Madlebe Bulk Water Supply Project in Ngwelezane Township and Thandukuphila at Enseleni.

MEC Bheki Cele together with the Head of Department Dr Kwazi Mbanjwa will be speakers of the day. The aim of the summit is to identify opportunities for SMME development in the freight industry.

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport will be hosting a regional driver of the year competition in all four regions during July. This is a build up to the Provincial Driver of the year competition to be held in August 2005. The department is committed towards reducing fatalities and carnage on the roads. The Driver of the year competition is thus aimed at reducing fatalities in the trucking and bus industries. Many companies have already experienced the fact that money spent on proper training, education, awareness and adopting appropriate road user behavior is extremely beneficial. The department is inviting all interested heavy motor vehicle drivers to participate in the regional competition which are as follows:

MEC Cele will be holding a Taxi Indaba on the 24 June 2005 at the Durban Drive-In, Brickhill Road, and said he expects all the leaders of the 253 taxi associations and all other stakeholders involved in the public transport sector to attend this crucial Indaba. The Indaba follows disturbances in the taxi industry in KwaZulu Natal on Monday and Tuesday due to a so called strike by the KwaZulu Natal Taxi Alliance.

KwaZulu-Natal Transport CEO, Dr. Kwazi Mbanjwa will attend the memorial service of 11 people who were killed in two separate accidents in South Coast on Saturday (25th June) last weekend. Members of the Transport Portfolio Committee are also expected to attend the memorial service.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr. Bheki Cele will on Thursday 23 June attend a memorial service of eight people killed in a horror bus crash on Saturday morning on the R66 between Ulundi and Nongoma.

The bus belonging to Mayville Bus Service was carrying about 77 passengers on board who were traveling from Durban to Nongoma for a church meeting. Initial investigation have revealed that the bus driver fell asleep and lost control of the bus which overturned killing five people instantly and others critically injured. Three more people died later in hospital which then increased the death toll to eight.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr. Bheki Cele will visit the community of Inadi at Umsinga on Saturday 18 June; this follows a call by the community to address issues relating to Transport. The communities have repeatedly called to the Department of Transport through radio programmes, requesting the department to intervene on the crisis situation ranging from road access, road maintenance, re-construction of bridges and the effectiveness of transport community structures.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr. Bheki Cele will be launching the Department’s KEEP LEFT – PASS RIGHT Road Safety Campaign, which aims to re-inform and re-educate the South African public about polite, safe and responsible driving habits.

The Road Traffic Act clearly states that, "Any person driving a vehicle on a public road shall do so by driving on the left side of the roadway and, where such roadway is of sufficient width, in such manner as not to encroach on that half of the roadway to his or her right……"

MEC Bheki Cele said he believed inconsiderate driving habits can be changed, if every person behind the wheel of a vehicle will only make the effort. And the greater the driver's level of consciousness - of risk, vehicle limitations, other people's lives - the more "instinctive" will safe driving habits become.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr. Bheki Cele, will meet Amakhosi and community leaders tomorrow, 10^th June, in Vryheid Farmers Hall at 10h00. This follows MEC Cele's promise he made last week in Vryheid Safety Imbizo on Saturday that he will go and consult with relevent stakeholders before responding to their concerns.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr. Bheki Cele together with the Head of Department Dr Kwazi Mbanjwa will be hosting a two day Report Back Transport Summit on the 26^th and 27^th May 2005, in Ulundi at the former Legislature Building starting at 9h00 am on Thursday.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr. Bheki Cele will be attending a Safety Imbizo in Bergville under Inkosi Menzi Hlongwane Tribal Authority. The MEC is responding to the call by the chief of the area following faction fights which began after the inauguration of the reigning chief of Isizwe samaNgwane.

The KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr. Bheki Cele will deliver his budget speeches for the Departments of Transport and Community Safety and Liaison on Friday 29^th April 2005 in the Pietermaritzburg Provincial Legislature starting from 9h00 am.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr. Bheki Cele and Transport CEO Dr. Kwazi Mbanjwa will today attend the funeral service of the late Mr. Sagren Pillay (32) a Road Traffic Inspector who was shot and killed yesterday at the N3 Marianhill Toll Plaza.

The funeral service for Pillay will be held at his parents home, at 52 Summerfield Road Unit 2, Chatsworth and short church service will be held at the PRC Township Church, then proceeding to the Mobeni Heights cemetery.

Minister Jeff Radebe and MEC Bheki Cele to hold Transport Imbizo at Ndwedwe, Sunday 10 April 2005 at 10h00

Transport Minister Jeff Radebe and his provincial counterpart, MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr. Bheki Cele will host a Transport Imbizo at Nombika High School in Ndwedwe north of Durban as part of the Imbizo focus week programmes.

Minister Radebe is expected to visit a number of labour-intensive transport projects which are aimed at job creation around the Ndwedwe area. The site visit will include a drive-through along the 31, 4 kilometre P100 road which is under the auspices of the African Renaissance Roads Upgrading Programme.

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport and National Department of Transport will launch a capacity development road show under the theme "Making Transport Your Career".

KZN Transport CEO Dr Kwazi Mbanjwa will deliver the keynote address. Various stakeholders including representatives of the Transport, Education and Training Authority (TETA), Civil Aviation Authority and Rail Chamber will be making presentations on transport as a career to learners.

KwaZulu- Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Mr. Bheki Cele will be embarking on a process of destroying all firearms and ammunition handed in during the amnesty period which started on the 1^st of January 2005 until the deadline of 31 March 2005 (Today). The destruction of firearms and ammunition will be done tomorrow on Friday the 1^st of April 2005 at the gun destruction site in Prospecton near Isipingo South of Durban.

MEC Bheki Cele will be attending a memorial service of ten people killed on a horror bus crash at KwaHlabisa on Friday night. Institute of road transport engineers accompanied by accident reconstruction personnel from RTI inspected both buses and the scene of the collision. According to the report findings mechanical faults were not the cause of the collision.

National Minister for Safety and Security Mr. Charles Nqakula together with the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr. Bheki Cele will be visiting Ulundi on the 13^th of March 2005, at Ulundi Stadium, 09h30 on an ongoing Disarmament Campaign.

MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Mr. Bheki Cele will be attending a Road Safety Prayer Meeting which is aimed at pushing forward the message of Road Safety and fighting crime in the communities around the Shembe/Inanda area.

The KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr Bheki Cele will launch a Public Awareness Campaign against Child Abuse.  The launch aims at raising public awareness about child abuse, empowering child abuse victims and the public with precautionary measures.

MEC Bheki Cele will be officially launching the Province's Disarmament Campaign which is aimed at social mobilization against illegal weapons and violence. The amnesty period began on the 1st of January 2005 and will end on the 31 March 2005. This period allows people to hand in illegal firearms and ammunition without fear of prosecution.

MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Mr. Bheki Cele will be attending a Road Safety Prayer Meeting which is aimed at pushing forward the message of Road Safety and fighting crime in the communities around Umlazi.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Mr. Bheki Cele will host a community Imbizo in Mpumalanga on Sunday 20th February 2005 commencing at 09h00 at Mpumalanga Stadium.

Press briefing on Taxi Violence, Monday 14 February at 11 am in the MEC’s Board Room (KZN DOT Head Office, PMB)  

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Mr Bheki Cele will be hosting a Media briefing to address issues surrounding an ongoing Taxi feud between the Mpumalanga and Pinetown Taxi Associations.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Bheki Cele together with MEC for Local Government, Housing and Traditional Affairs, Mike Mabuyakhulu and MEC for Social Welfare, Inkosi Ngubane, will attend the Memorial Service of the 5 children who passed away in a traumatic incident.

MEC for Transport, Community Safety & Liaison, Mr Bheki Cele will be turning the sod for the Pedestrian Bridge over the White uMfolozi River on 7 February 2005.

MEC, Mr Bheki Cele will be holding a Road Safety Media Briefing at the Hilton Hotel, Durban on Thursday, 20 January 2005 at 10:00.

MEC Bheki Cele will officially open a R793 000 road project at Mbhulelweni near Donnybrook at 10 am.