I am horrified by the irresponsible actions of the driver and the owner of the minibus taxi that crashed while transporting school children in the Cape Town CBD on Friday.

The 16-seater minibus taxi was transporting over 20 learners and two adults when it crashed into the steel barricades outside the National Parliament.

The injuries sustained by the learners, aged between 6 and 14 years of age, range from serious to minor. Some learners are still being treated in hospital following the accident.

It was shocking to learn that the driver did not have a driver’s or operating licence and that the minibus was also unlicensed. 

After the accident, I immediately requested the Department of Transport and Public Works to investigate what had happened.  As a transport regulator, I will take whatever appropriate actions are required by the facts of the incident, including laying criminal charges where appropriate. Irresponsible drivers, with no consideration for the safety of the people they transport, cannot go unpunished.

I also call on parents and schools to ensure that any vehicles which they contract to transport children are safe, and drivers are competent and licensed.

My Department has a focus on road safety and does ongoing work to improve child road safety. This includes educational initiatives at schools for teachers and learners, information and exhibition stands at community events, the implementation of scholar patrols at identified schools, driver and pedestrian awareness events, and other events across the province.