DA in Mpumalanga wants blue light brigades banned

The DA in Mpumalanga has called on the provincial government to ban the unnecessary, costly and dangerous blue light brigade which is used by drivers transporting politicians and VIPs.

The DA tabled a motion in the Mpumalanga Legislature calling for the house to ban the blue light brigades.

This motion was a result of the incident where 56-year-old Warrant Officer Thomas Shongwe, a bodyguard of Deputy President David Mabuza, died on 20 November after Mabuza’s convoy was involved in an accident near Middelburg.

“The ANC defeated the DA’s motion – proving once more that they have no qualms to squander taxpayers’ money and don’t care about the lives of other motorists on the road,” Bosman Grobler MPL – DA Chairperson of the Mpumalanga Province said in a statement.

In April, the Automobile Association of South Africa came out condemning blue light brigades involved in Presidential Protection Services, which are viewed as threats to other motorists.

“Not only are blue light brigades costly to South African taxpayers, but they continue to pose a road safety threat to other motorists, including the occupants of the VIP convoys themselves.”

The recent incident is not the first time ANC blue light brigades caused fatal accidents on Mpumalanga roads:

• In 2017, another of Mabuza’s blue light convoys struck and killed a pedestrian who was crossing the N4 near Croc Valley Estates.

• In December 2016, 63-year-old Herman van Schalkwyk died in Amsterdam near Piet Retief after a head-on collision with the blue light convoy of David Mahlobo, who was a Minister of State Security then.

• Tholakele Masimula passed away on September 23, 2016, in the Piet Retief area in Mpumalanga after a head-on collision with a blue light brigade convoy allegedly transporting a former Mayor of Mkhondo Local Municipality.

“Such above instances are extremely devastating because of the loss of life, as reckless blue light cavalcades supersede all of our traffic laws. Given the above and the fact that these convoys bully and harass law-abiding motorists on our roads, the DA challenges the Mpumalanga Provincial Government to adopt the approach of the Western Cape and forbid VIPs from using blue lights or sirens when travelling, unless there is an imminent threat to safety or life.”