Minister Carlisle and Religious Leaders Commit to Encourage Road Safety | Western Cape Government

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Minister Carlisle and Religious Leaders Commit to Encourage Road Safety

15 November 2013

This Biblical injunction of "My Brother’s Keeper" will be infused with the Western Cape Safely Home Road Safety message that will be spread by religious leaders across the province this coming festive season.

Clerics of the African Traditional, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Baha'i and Khoisan religions will meet with Minister Robin Carlisle on Thursday, 14 November 2013, at the Zinatul Islam Mosque, in District Six, Cape Town, to sign a Road Safety Pledge, in an effort to bring an end to the carnage on our roads.

The pledge is part of the Western Cape Government's Safely Home initiative in collaboration with the Western Cape Religious Leaders' Forum (WCRLF).

Besides the signing of the pledge, the clerics will pray for the safety of all road users and passengers, and bless journeys at places where long distance journeys will start and end. The religious leaders will spread road safety messages from the pulpits throughout the festive season. They will also join government officials where road safety initiatives will be held.

The Western Cape Religious Leaders' Forum (WCRLF) says religious leaders are regularly called upon to offer spiritual counsel and intervention in the aftermath of countless car crashes where lives are permanently altered. Religious leaders collaborate with government today in showing their own commitment to the Safely Home campaign by signing the pledge, according to the WCRLF.

“After a crash officials need to deal with body and limb. But we as religious leaders need to deal with broken hearts. Often it goes further than broken hearts. Families are plunged into financial devastation because of the loss of a sole breadwinner. We cannot allow a situation where we say I am Not My Brother's Keeper,” according to the WCRLF.

The WCRLF says its members will from now continue to spread road safety messages and will participate in road safety initiatives whenever possible.

In support of this initiative, Minister Carlisle said, "I am encouraged by the Western Cape Religious Leaders' Forum’s willingness to partner with us on this very crucial cause. We welcome them and look forward to the great work that we will do together to continue to save lives on our roads. It is important that more and more sectors of society marry into this 'Road Safety' family in order for us to grow in strength and unshaking resolve to changing behaviour.

"Reducing road deaths by 50% by December 2014 will not be achieved without effective behaviour change and partnerships; partnerships between like-minded groups and people who share the same levels of commitment to road safety that we do. The WCRLF is such a group. Their partnership will invariably aid greatly to this cause by virtue of the influence that they exert in society. We look forward to this fruitful partnership around a cause as great as saving lives. As a government, we remain committed now, as we always have, to the road safety principles of safe roads, safe speeds, safe people, and safe vehicles; these are the principles that continue to guide us in our work to reduce the unnecessary carnage on our roads."

Yasir Ahmed of the Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works says the department's aim is to have 1 million people signing the Road Safety Pledge by the end of March 2014. The first signatories will be Minister Robin Carlisle and Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, as patron of the WCRLF.

The imam of the Zinatul Islam Mosque, Mohamed Moerat, has committed to encouraging his 2 000+ congregants to sign the Road Safety Pledge after Friday prayers.

For more information please contact:

Elizabeth Petersen (WCRLF): 082 475 5116

or

Doctor Rashied Omar (chairman of the WCRLF): 078 271 4440

For departmental enquiries please contact Yasir Ahmed: 083 646 8100

Media Enquiries: 

Al-Ameen Kafaar
Head of Communication
Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works
Tel: 021 483 9653
Cell: 083 626 1361
E-mail: al-ameen.kafaar@westerncape.gov.za