Pretoria –Government will in the New Year introduce a new qualification for traffic officers which will be equivalent to a national diploma.
“We want our officers to be skilled in all competencies of traffic law enforcement and we will be reorganising our training colleges to offer specialised training to equip our officials with all the skills required from an officer in the 21st century,” Acting Transport Minister Ngoaka Ramatlhodi said.
He was speaking on Thursday in Pretoria during a national wreath laying ceremony held in remembrance of all traffic and metro officers who died in the line of duty this year.
Minister Ramatlhodi said government has committed to introduce an insurance cover for officers who have died in the line of duty.
“This cover will ease the burden on the shoulders of orphans and assist in ensuring that the family life is not disrupted by the sudden and unexpected loss of the bread winner in the family,” he said.
Minister Ramatlhodi called for an end to the killing of law enforcement officers.
“We are done with pleading; we now demand an immediate end to the senseless killing of our law enforcement officers. Their lives matter, they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity,” he said.
Government will not be deterred from ensuring that everyone obeys the rules of the road.
He encouraged officers who attended the wreath laying ceremony to pay tribute to their fallen colleagues by tightening law enforcement on the road without comprise.
“South Africa can never repay the deaths we owe to our fallen officers and their families, that is why we must continue to do everything to reduce the carnage on our roads,” Minister Ramathlodi said.
A commemorative plaque has been erected at the Boekenhoutkloof Traffic Police Training College in Pretoria with the name of all officers who have died in the line of duty.
A total of 18 traffic officers died in the line of duty in the past year. More than 300 officers have been honoured in this manner from the inception of this recognition ceremony in 1993.
To harmonise South Africa’s traffic law enforcement, government will be introducing a single and identical uniform for the sector in all provinces. – SAnews.gov.za
