Alternative needed to Moloto Road: premier

TOO CONGESTED An alternative mode of transport is needed for the people who presently have to use Moloto Road in Mpumalanga, Premier David Mabuza said yesterday.

“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,” he said at a mass funeral for the victims of an accident on the road.

“We are considering an alternative mode of transport that would ease the volume of traffic on Moloto Road.”

Last Monday, 29 people died when a truck drove into the back of a tipper truck, before colliding with a Putco bus and a bakkie near Kwaggafontein. Another person died later in hospital.

Twenty-two people were injured.

Mabuza said the government needed to consider trains as a The establishment of a railway line is long overdue

David Mabuza

Mpumalanga premier mode of transport, as the high volume of traffic on Moloto Road was contributing to the rate of accidents.

“The establishment of a railway line is 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 will go as far as Sekhukhune district in Limpopo,” said Mabuza.

“It will not only transport passengers from the areas surrounding Moloto, but will cater for farmers goods while it eases the volume of traffic.”

The funeral service in Matshiding started at 7am yesterday and was attended by Transport Minister Dipuo Peters, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, Social Development Deputy Minister Maria Ntuli, Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabatha and ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte.

After the service ended at 10am the families went to various cemeteries to bury their loved ones, said Mabuza’s spokesman, Zibonele Mncwango.

The families of at least four victims did not attend the mass funeral and held heir own services on Saturday, said Mncwango. –