Underage drinking should be curbed
"alcohol consumption has a negative impact on government’s crime prevention initiatives."
Underage drinking remains a concern and parents need to ensure that they do not allow children to go to taverns whether it is Festive Season or not.
This is according to Mpumalanga Community Safety, Security and Liaison MEC, Mr Vusi Shongwe during an Overall Friday Campaign in Tonga Policing precinct, recently.
He further called on liquor traders to ensure that they do not allow any person below 18 years to enter their premises as required by the law.
“Liquor traders should assist in community building and not only be interested in making money at the expense of our children’s future,” Shongwe said.
He added that alcohol consumption has a negative impact on government’s crime prevention initiatives and road crashes as many people have been victims of rape while they are coming from the taverns.
Shongwe indicated that that others drink and later become involved in accidents that often claim lives of innocent road users.
He visited several liquor outlets in the area where they were among others looking for wanted crime suspects, dangerous weapons and also ensuring that people do not drink in public.
The operations, which were preceded by a roadblock on D797 Road in Tonga, led to 518 vehicles being stopped and 75 fines were issued for various vehicle defects. 23 motorists were issued with fines for excessive speeding while six more vehicles were discontinued for not being road worthy.
Five people were also arrested for possession of dagga and driving under the influence of liquor. Two fines were also issued to liquor traders for violating Liquor Act.
The Overall Friday Campaign is an initiative by the department which involves stakeholders such as SAPS, provincial and local traffic officers, SARS and Department of Home Affairs to deal with all sorts of crime in identified problematic areas.
Meanwhile Shongwe applauded traffic officers for bringing to book two drivers who were nabbed for excessive speeding. The first suspect, Mr. TS Setlogelo, was caught driving at 197 km per hour on a 120km per hour zone on the N3-10 Villiers Heidelberg on Friday, 27 December 2013. The suspect was released on a R1500, 00 bail.
The second driver, Mr. S Ngema, was arrested on Saturday, 28 December 2013 at approximately 19h10 on the same road while driving at 203km per hour on a 120km per hour zone.
Shongwe said that the arrest of the two is an indication that some road users do not understand the impact caused by speeding when there are crashes. He has called for motorists to be more responsible and not violate traffic rules needlessly in order to avoid crashes.
On the other hand two people have died on N2 Road between Piet Retief and Ermelo when a taxi and a Toyota Sedan collided head on December 29. The taxi was travelling from Piet Retief to Ermelo. One passenger died from the taxi and the other one from the Toyota sedan.
