Transport minister visits Lebombo Border and conducts roadblock on N4
The most pressing issue found at the roadblock were overloaded and unroadworthy vehicles.
Unroadworthy vehicles, overloading and invalid driver’s licences are only some of the issues the Department of Transport encountered on Monday, December 9.
Led by minister Barbara Creecy and deputy minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa, the Cross-Alive Road Safety Campaign Site Visit started at the Lebombo Border Post and ended with a roadblock and inspections on the N4 just outside Malalane.
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Creecy said her department has urged trucking and trading associations to delay sending their cargo to Mozambique through Lebombo Border Post for now.
“The situation at the Lebombo Border Post is currently suboptimum. The port has been closed since Saturday morning and the queue of waiting trucks is stretching as far back as 20km. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to tell either the drivers or trading associations when the border will be safe to open on the Mozambican side. As a consequence, the drivers have to wait in this enormous heat. We have appealed to other trucking and trading associations to delay sending trucks to the border wherever possible. Even if the border were to open soon, it’s likely going to take a couple of days to clear the backlog,” said Creecy.
The minister also expressed deep concern over road safety, citing that South Africa is currently averaging at 40 deaths on the road daily.
“We have put up roadblocks such as this one across the country, checking roadworthiness of vehicles, driver’s licences and seatbelts. We have come across a number of vehicles that were overloaded just at this roadblock alone. We are urging drivers to take responsibilities by checking the state of their vehicles before embarking on their journey,” she said.
The law enforcement operations and roadblocks have been in effect since the beginning of December, and according to Creecy, nearly 300 vehicles have been impounded in Mpumalanga in the first five days of December.
FESTIVE SEASON ROAD SAFETY CAMPAIGN
Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy is today visiting Lebombo Border Post to promote road safety and assess efficiency #ArriveAlive #ProjectEdwardSA2024 pic.twitter.com/3spMii4lNO
— Department of Transport (@Dotransport) December 9, 2024
