Cape Town - Representatives from the department of justice, correctional services and the City on Tuesday attended an interfaith prayer session in Site C, Khayelitsha, as a show of support for the community’s Easter weekend road safety campaign.
According to the Khayelitsha social development forum, the prayer session - which was hosted by several local bishops from the community - was to not only pray for road mercies as long-distance road trips begin, but to also ensure that taxi drivers were on board regarding adhering to Covid-19 safety regulations.
Forum chairperson Luyanda Adams said that sessions that have been on-going for the past three years have proven to be successful motivations for road safety, subtly reminding taxi drivers to be more cautious.
“While we usually hold these sessions before the Easter weekend and then during the Christmas holidays - not to say that road safety is a concern only then, it’s important every day - and we want our drivers to know and understand that. This is but one way to be visible and show our support to our drivers and the community during a sensitive time,” Adams said.
“Sadly, around this time a lot of road accidents occur and people die. We are trying to avoid that or rather minimise the chances. That’s why we meet to not only pray for safe travels, but to also reiterate the importance of adhering to road safety to our drivers.
“This year we also had to include the challenges brought forth by the pandemic and, as a community, a unified front increases all our chances to make it to the next Easter,” said Adams.
He said the interfaith session also served as a platform for the community to engage their local leaders and departments servicing the community, on issues they are facing.
“These sessions also avail the opportunity for our community to engage with the departments that work to serve them. We always make sure to invite them so they can see and hear what our people need,” he said.
Sub-council chairperson Patrick Mngxunyeni said: “It’s crucial that as the government we support our communities during such times.
“Meetings such as these, avail a platform for us to speak to our drivers and urge them to observe road rules. Especially at a time such as this, we need for everybody to safely travel whilst adhering to Covid-19 regulations.”
Cape Argus