Kempton Park resident Peter Baloyi was recently conferred a PhD in public policy from the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).
Baloyi was born and raised in Blood River, a village near Polokwane, Limpopo.
He completed his diploma and BTech in Road Traffic Policing and Safety at TUT and then obtained his Master’s degree in Public Policy from Wits University.
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“I came to Gauteng in 1998 to join the provincial traffic department as a traffic officer and worked my way up to management level until late 2007.
“I then joined the Road Traffic Management Corporation and worked as a manager responsible for road traffic coordination throughout the country,” he said.
Baloyi now works as an operations manager for the Road Traffic Infringement Agency, a Department of Transport agency responsible for implementing the Administration Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act.
“My PhD was conferred in April 2024, and the focus was on the enhanced implementation framework of the Points Demerit System (PDS) in South Africa, which was a comparative study of a similar system implemented mostly in the European countries to deal with road traffic safety.”
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He said his success was attributed to hard work, dedication and the grace of God.
“I always told myself I want to achieve the highest qualification.
“My pastor, Reverent SC Mathebula, normally says nothing is impossible with God,” he said.
He added he would like to encourage youngsters to pursue education against all odds, especially those who still believe they cannot study without funding because, for them, it is even easier with the availability of NSFAS.
“I am writing a book to reflect on my challenges growing up, going to school, and coming back to a home without food, and how I did not see that as a stumbling block to my studies. The book will probably be out later this year or early next year.”
Baloyi also intends to present the findings of his study to the road traffic and transport industry, as most people are concerned and anxious about the envisaged implementation of the PDS in SA.