On Wednesday, 25 October 2017, MEC for Public Works and Human Settlements, Mr. Ravi Pillay, together with Harry Gwala District Mayor and law enforcement officials conducted a roadblock at the P749/P601 intersection as part of the Provincial Road Safety Activations in the district.
MEC for Human Settlements and Public Works with taxi driver Mr Mlindeli Jiji giving the Provincial Road Saftey Campaign a thumbs up at the roadblock at uMzimkhulu
The MEC interacted with motorists and passengers of uMzimkhulu and advised them to be safe the road. He also requested that taxi drivers be careful and should take good care of their passengers. Road safety pamphlets were distributed.
Later the entourage travelled to P416 as part of the Siyahlola programme. This route construction started in August 2016 and is the main road between Kokstad and Pietermaritzburg. The cost of the construction is R880 million and will be completed by December 2017.
The MEC then travelled to P749 to view the site where four bridges will be built. At uMzimkhulu taxi rank the MEC interacted with commuters and drivers and distributed pamphlets. The MEC was captivated by the story of a young woman he met at the taxi rank. Ms Mbalenhle Mashobani (25) student of Harvard University, studying medicine caught his attention. Ms Mashobani is a first year medicine student at Harvard University. She was born at uMzimkhulu and her mother who also studied medicine at Harvard ignited her passion for medicine. Ms Mashobani was truly inspired by the Road Safety Campaign and said, “I believe that this campaign will open a lot of the eyes of our road users, I feel very good about the change that it will make in our community”. MEC Pillay congratulated her on her hardwork and told his team present about her.
There was a visit to the uMzimkhulu Police Station, where a plan to keep the roads safe during the festive season was shared. The day concluded with a debriefing at the uMzimkhulu Local Municipality Council Chambers.
MEC interacting with some very happy road users at uMzimkhulu’s roadblock
MEC runs into Ms Mbalenhle Mashobani (25) a Medicine student at Harvard University, while visiting uMzimkhulu taxi rank. He encourages her to reach for her dreams and to continue to work hard.