Pretoria - Twenty six of the 30 people, who died last Monday after a gruesome accident that involved a bus and a truck at the notorious Moloto Road, have been laid to rest today in a mass funeral service in Matshiding near Kwaggafontein.
At least four families opted out from a mass funeral as they buried their deceased on Saturday in different areas.
Speaking at the funeral, Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza commended the stakeholders, who assisted in the burial of the 30 people, adding that government would ensure that the well-being of the dependants of the deceased were taken care of in the event they lost breadwinners.
He said government was considering the rail as a mode of transport that could be utilised to ease the large volume of traffic on the notorious road.
Mabuza said although the Moloto Road had been extended in the past by the provincial government, there was still a need for rail transport as the large volume of traffic contributed greatly to accidents.
“No matter how much we can extend the road, it is a reality that the population has increased drastically, the amount of traffic is just too huge and there is too much congestion. We are at a stage of considering an alternative mode of transport that would ease the volume of traffic on Moloto Road,” Mabuza told mourners.
He said an environment impact assessment on the establishment of a railway line study was done by the provincial government under his leadership, while he was still a member of the executive responsible for roads and transport in 2007. He said the report was tabled to the national Department of Transport.
“The matter is high on the agenda of national government and is subject to consideration. Indeed the establishment of a railway line has been long overdue but we are happy that the national government will be making a pronouncement soon.
“The railway line will be a link between Mpumalanga and Gauteng and would go as far as Sekhukhune district in Limpopo. It will not only transport passengers from the areas surrounding Moloto, but will cater for goods of the farmers while it eases the volume of traffic,” said Mabuza.
The funeral service was also attended by amongst others Transport Minister Dipuo Peters, Health Minister Aaron Motswaledi, Social Development Deputy Minister Maria Ntuli, Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabatha and ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Dwarte.
Government has appointed a high level investigation team compressing of officials from the department, Road Traffic Management Corporation and the Mpumalanga provincial government to unearth the cause of the fatal crash.
The team’s brief was not limited to determining what caused the crash, but also included coming up with proposed interventions to prevent such crashes. - SAnews.gov.za
