Pretoria – The City of Johannesburg has thanked its residents for their patience during the road closures and disruptions during Tuesday’s National Memorial Service for the late former President Nelson Mandela.
Tens of thousands of mourners and over 100 Heads of State and Government, royals, sheiks and dignitaries attended the service at FNB Stadium at Nasrec. Various roads were closed off in the vicinity of the stadium for the day.
“The City of Joburg would like to thank our staff and partners for their support and the residents of Joburg for their patience. We apologise for any inconvenience that was caused due to these extra-ordinary arrangements,” said the city in a statement.
The city, together with its transport partners, was able to transport 20 000 mourners to the Memorial Service.
The operation involved over 200 buses from PUTCO, Rea Vaya and Metrobus, excluding the buses organised by the Gauteng Provincial Government bringing mourners from all over Gauteng and further afield.
The mini bus taxi industry also assisted to ferry local people to bus pick up points.
A total of 400 marshalls and supervisors were deployed to assist with the arrangements in addition to JMPD and SAPS deployments at all transport sites.
After the memorial service, the city arranged additional services for people from Soweto who had walked or used alternative transport in the morning.
The city added that when New Canada Road flooded at about 5am, it arranged for a deviation route.
“FNB Stadium was emptied within two hours and there were no accidents or incidents. This accomplishment can be attributed to the commitment and efforts by all our staff, transport partners and facility managers and other stakeholders who volunteered their facilities and services in the memory of the legacy of Nelson Mandela,” said the city. – SAnews.gov.za
