Are traffic officials’ vehicles now being repaired in the street? This Mpumalanga traffic vehicle was spotted being fixed in a street near Checkers, just behind the Total garage in Hazyview, recently.
The vehicle was mounted on jacks and a substantial amount of oil had been spilt on the ground below it.
While taking photographs, this journalist was approached by a mechanic who was working on the vehicle.
He stated that he would get into a great deal of trouble if these photos appeared in the paper and requested the journalist not to report the incident or publish the photograph. A second man appeared on the scene and both approached the journalist demanding to see the photos taken.At this point the latter left the scene to avoid further conflict.
Hazyview Herald contacted Mr Joseph Mabusa, spokesman for the Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison, to enquire why a traffic vehicle was being fixed in the backstreets of town. Mabusa informed the newspaper that he was on study leave and that the matter could be discussed with Mr MM Musi of the same department.
The query with the relevant photograph was then forwarded to Musi. Five emails were sent but no response was received. Upon phoning Musi the paper was assured he would attend to the query and respond. To date this has not happened.
On Wednesday, February 5, yet another Mpumalanga traffic vehicle was being fixed in the street. On Monday, February 10, another call was made to Musi and a message was left regarding the second incident, requesting answers to what now seemed to have become a regular occurrence.
This lack of a response seems to ask if the spokesman tried to avoid dealing with this potentially embarrassing situation for the department. The newspaper will pursue the matter and provide feedback to the readers in due course.
