Sir
A new policy by the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), aimed at reducing the number of overtime hours that Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) officers may work, could prove disastrous for road users in our province.
Already, the RTI is acutely short of the desired staff complement and now, with the Easter weekend just around the corner, there are likely to be even less RTI officers on KZN’s roads. One shudders to think what the outcome of this will be.
Last year, during the four-day Easter long weekend, 59 people died on our roads.
This with a full complement of staff out on the roads to ensure law enforcement.
Also, RTI officers work two different shifts – 6am to 2pm and 2pm to 10pm.
This then begs the question – what will happen if there is an emergency after 10pm during the hours that are deemed overtime?
While the move to reduce overtime may be a cost-saving measure, it cannot come at the expense of road users lives.
Our province has also been the site of several rock-throwing incidents which have ended innocent lives and caused injuries to motorists.
It is clear that we need more law enforcement and not less.
The DA will raise this matter with KZN’s Transport MEC and will call on him to do everything in his power to have the DPSA reconsider its decision in the interest of saving valuable lives.
Rafeek Shah, MPL
DA KZN Spokesperson on Transport
