The Hot Topic – Opinion: How many children must die before accountability matters?

The tragic loss of children who perished on their way to school is one of the most heartbreaking moments we have witnessed so far this year.

What makes it even more distressing is the realisation that this is not an isolated incident. It is one of many.

And yet, it feels as though we are not angry enough – perhaps not yet, or perhaps because such tragedies have become disturbingly familiar.

No parent, and indeed no human being, should ever have to endure the unbearable pain of losing a loved one under such circumstances.

At the heart of this tragedy lies a collective failure. We failed those innocent souls whose lives were cut short before their hopes and dreams had a chance to take shape.

Their blood is on our collective hands. For children in this country, life has become a constant struggle for survival.

If they are not dying from poisoned food, unsafe snacks, or contaminated biscuits, they are drowning, disappearing mysteriously, only for their bodies to be discovered days later.

We have seen them fall victim to sexual predators, some murdered, in some cases even by those meant to protect them.

Others are trafficked, while many lose their lives to reckless behaviour on our roads—often enabled by unvetted and poorly enforced systems.

As parents and citizens, we often respond with shock when these incidents unfold and that is all we do.

We offer tired words of “Rest in peace”, protest briefly with placards demanding justice, and then move on. But stopping there is a failure. Silence, short-lived outrage and performative activism have allowed lawlessness to become the norm.

We speak loudly only when tragedy strikes, jumping on the bandwagon, typing away on our devices while in the comfort of our safe spaces, offering words that come too late to bring comfort or change outcomes.

What is even more harrowing is the reactionary behaviour of those who bear responsibility, or who should have acted long before tragedy struck.

Time and again, officials respond with media statements that acknowledge loss but offer no accountability and no evidence of meaningful action to prevent recurrence.

They arrive at scenes of devastation in convoys of luxury vehicles, turning moments of profound grief into public relations exercises. Not to mention stealing, taking over the whole ‘show’ with their hordes of entourage.

In doing so, they make a mockery of the pain carried by grieving families. The question we should all be asking – not only as parents but as a society – is why enforcement suddenly becomes urgent only after lives are lost?

Why are authorities now scrambling to ensure that scholar transport complies with by-laws that have always existed? Does it truly take the death of a child for government action to materialise?

What is the purpose of departments tasked with road safety if they act only when it is already too late? We have seen this pattern before.

The sudden clampdowns, the promises, the visibility—it will last a few weeks at most, until attention shifts to the next crisis. Then the cycle repeats.

Why is it so difficult to maintain systems that work?

Why must tragedy be the trigger for compliance? This failure does not rest on the government alone. It rests with us as a nation.

We must find the courage to speak out when we see wrongdoing, to call it out early, and to refuse to normalise broken systems. We must say no to lawlessness, no to negligence, and no to waiting for something worse to happen before we act.

Because every delay, every silence, and every excuse brings us closer to yet another heartbreaking scene of desperate parents weeping for children who should have come home safely.

It is sadly noted that just recently, President Cyril Ramaphosa has made an announcement set to increase the salaries of public office-bearers.

According to the presidency website, the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office-Bearers recommended 4.1% salary increment for all public office bearers.

This will be seen as adding insult to injury as the very custodian who are continuously failing to execute their mandates are rewarded for simply failing us.

It must really be nice….