BuaNews (Tshwane)
Siboniso Ntuli
19 November 2008
Dannhauser — For ten years the Asiphephe road safety campaign has successfully been making roads in KwaZulu-Natal safer.
Speaking at a celebration to mark 10 years of the Asiphephe campaign at KwaMdakane Sports Field on Tuesday, KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Bheki Cele said the campaign has turned into one of the department's most successful campaigns.
Asiphephe is a research-based, coordinated road safety strategy led by the road safety project management team and implemented by provincial law enforcement agencies.
The MEC said: "Asiphephe is a powerful concept which transcends the boundaries of road safety to diffuse into all aspects of transport.
"While the principle goal of the department of transport is to provide access to the people we serve, Asiphephe calls for collective involvement in creating a safe culture in transport."
The department, as per the recommendations, reduced the alcohol limit levels for drivers from 0.08 gram per 100 millilitres of blood to 0.05 gram per 100 millilitres and 0.02 gram for professional drivers.
The manpower was also increased from 350 enforcement officers to present 906 officers and breathalisers were rolled out and legislation was changed to support it.
Further to this, the Traffic and Transport Investigation Unit was formed to deal with fraud and corruption at driving licence test centres.
In order to prevent drunk driving, booze buses were rolled throughout the province for party-goers to make use of it.
Mr Cele said they would continue to enforce their 100 percent compliance policy. "Our message to people who commit offences and try to get away with it is always clear. You can run but you can't hide," he said.
The success of the programme so far has been the shared commitment and joint responsibility from all sectors of society.
"We have seen the taxi industry, the hospitality industry, the business sector, educational institutions, religious institution, local government, the media and a range of organisations coming out in support and rallying behind our road safety initiatives," said MEC Cele. -
Rehydration centres set up for Beit Bridge cholera victims
By Sydney Masinga Musina - Three rehydration centres have been established at the Beit Bridge border post to help treat Zimbabweans who have been diagnosed with Cholera and arrived in South Africa seeking medical help.
Limpopo Department of Health and Social Development spokesperson Phuti Seloba said on Wednesday that two people had died of the disease at Musina Hospital on Tuesday, where 54 other cases have been reported since Saturday. "None of the patients are South African, but all came from Zimbabwe for treatment," he said. A total of 38 patients have already been discharged and 14 are still receiving treatment. Mr Seloba said the hospital was not equipped to cope with so many cases of cholera and therefore the rehydration centres had been set up.
"Cholera is characterised by severe, watery diarrhoea that may lead to people dying of dehydration," he said. Zimbabwe, including the capital city of Harare, is currently in the grip of a severe cholera outbreak as water services in that country have collapsed. Doctors have warned that the situation will get even worse when the rains start in earnest. Wilson Dzebu, spokesperson of the Musina Local Municipality, said that they had tested all the water sources around Musina and found no signs of cholera. "We are liaising on a daily basis with the provincial Department of Health to make sure that none of our citizens is infected or affected by cholera," he said.
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