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Availability of Traffic Officers
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Speeches and Media Releases
 Safety Liaison and Transport

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 MEDIA STATEMENT
 10 JANUARY 2000

ON THE AVAILABILTY OF TRAFFIC OFFICERS

The department at this stage does experience a shortage of traffic officer on the provincial level. Although there is an obvious shortage 
of traffic officers, the department of transport has undertaken to ensure that even the few traffic officer available will be used 
effectively to increase their visibility on the Eastern Cape roads.

The current staff component for the Directorate totals 271 traffic officers against the 1100 as per the approved organogram.

The Department at one stage during 1997/8 intended to increase its staff component with approximately 200 traffic officers.

The aim of the envisaged increase of staff was to intensify law enforcement and to render a 24-hour shift service to reduce the carnage on 
our roads. Presently the government is faced with high percentage of personnel expenditure, which is severely affecting service delivery.

To reduce the personnel expenditure and at the same time fighting the shortage of traffic officer, the department now intends to make use 
of the available, suitable supernumeral staff from the various departments through a selection process.

A total number of 20 staff members has been interviewed and are in a process of being appointed.

In the 2000/2001 financial year a provision has been made in the budget for appointment of 25 additional officers. The present available 
staff is not adequately deployed and this also contributes to the present situation.

Whilst there is a shortage of traffic officers it is not solely the cause of the high accident or fatality rate.The real causes are that 
motorist including busses and minibus taxis utilise unroadworthy vehicles and overspeeding.

Here I must emphasise that buses minibus taxis in particular seem to ignore the newly promulgated speed limits. Drunken driving is also a 
serious contributory factor to high fatality rate on our roads.

As a department we are concentrating on beefing up visibility of traffic officer on our roads inspite of the shortage traffic officer and 
other resources such patrol vehicles.

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