He said Batswana should be seen to be rallying behind the pillars of the national vision by addressing road safety issues. Mphathi said that at BCL, they are not only concerned with safety in the workplace but also outside. At the beginning of last year, BCL put up a challenge to encourage safety on the road in the use of seatbelts. Any manager spotted driving without seatbelts is fined P50 by whoever has seen him or her. Mphathi said no one has collected the money and the wearing of the seatbelt has increased in the organisation.
Early this year, the mine put up yet another challenge on the use of cell phones while driving. The same rules applied like seatbelts and so far no one has collected money from managers for using cell phones while driving. Mphathi expressed worry that despite the tireless efforts by the road safety committees, the rate of accidents is still high. He called on members of the public to accord road safety the recognition and understanding it deserves.
He praised the police and road safety committees for doing their best though they seem not to be succeeding. He said the efforts made by the law enforcement agencies are not sufficient to yield satisfactory results.
“It is in this regard that we feel a collective involvement in this platform would change the status quo,” he said. He warned that there is absolutely no law enforcement agency that will achieve its objectives without public cooperation and individual responsibility.
Mphathi said this year’s theme, “Safe Roads to 2016” presents a serious challenge not only to the government but to all sectors of the economy. “It activates a focus of national attention in the adverse pressure that road accidents put on our social and economic development and the threat they pose on its sustainability since they directly affect the working population,” he said.
