MEDIA STATEMENT

MEMORIAL FOR BULWER SIX 

It is worrisome that minibus taxis, that are part of the broader public transport industry, continue to drive people to their deaths. In the past year there have been over 60 people who have lost their lives in road crashes involving minibus taxis. In this Bulwer incident, it is actually sad that a taxi driver displayed such arrogance in dealing with his passengers that it led to this horrific crash.

"On Sunday, I congratulated the taxi industry in Nquthu, Northern KZN for undergoing training in customer relations, defensive driving and business management. This group displayed a great deal of maturity and that is what we are looking for in the rest of the taxi industry in the province," said KZN MEC for Transport, S'bu Ndebele.

The MEC says the taxi industry and the public transport broadly cannot continue being conveyors of death.

"What is more of concern to us is the apparent silence of passengers when dealing with the public transport sector. It is your life, do not let others play within," said Mr Ndebele.

The minibus taxi sector is a very important part of our public transport as a country. More than sixty (60) percent of all passengers in the country are transported by minibus taxis. It is also the biggest Black Empowerment industry present in South Africa. The industry's economical muscle can also not be ignored. The Taxi sector spends over R20 million on insurance every month, they spend over R2.5 Million on petrol and another R2.5 million on repairs each month.

"However, for the industry to continue growing it needs its customers' passengers. I therefore call upon the industry to respect their customers. Taxi drivers and owners should treat their passengers with respect and dignity. This means servicing the vehicles properly and regularly and for the drivers to take extreme caution as they drive on the roads to avoid crashes such as this," says Ndebele.

Minister Ndebele also urged pedestrians, passengers and motorists to make use of the Mpimpa Hotline 086 221 1010 to report bad road behaviour. Mr Ndebele commended those citizens who have reported traffic offenders to the Mpimpa Call Centre. The Call Centre received more than four hundred (400) complaints since April 2003. Some of the complaints include reckless driving, unlicensed drivers, unroadworthy vehicles and overloading of passengers.

A memorial service for the six (6) people who were killed in a road crash on Sunday, 11 May 2003 near Bulwer, took place today, 17 June 2003 at the Nkelabantwana Sports Ground in Bulwer.

Hundreds of people including KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Mr S'bu Ndebele, Members of Parliament, and Mayors from surrounding towns, Councillors and community members were in attendance.

The six (6) people were killed instantly in a crash involving a minibus taxi, at approximately 23h00 on Sunday (2003-05-11) at the Ixopo/Bulwer intersection near Bulwer.

It is alleged that the driver of the taxi failed to heed a stop sign, causing the minibus taxi to veer out of control and come to a stop about twenty (20) metres down an embankment . Six (6) passengers were killed instantly and eight (8) others suffered serious injury.

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