WATCH | ‘I’m the most visible minister on Twitter’: Mbalula hits back at critics over ‘double standards’ jab

Transport minister Fikile Mbalula has hit back about his alleged double standards online, saying he is the most visible and engaging minister on social media.

Mbalula was criticised about the state of roads and law enforcement on them after 20 people, including 18 children, died when a truck crashed into a bakkie transporting pupils on the N2 between Pongola and Itshelejuba last week.

Many criticised the minister for not heeding a plea by a Pongola resident in 2019 asking for the department’s intervention on the N2, citing his interaction with radio star Anele Mdoda as an example of him allegedly only attending to celebrities’ grievances.

Speaking in Pongola on Thursday, Mbalula said Mdoda was one of many citizens who had complained about potholes on the road and he had simply asked her to message him about it.

“I didn’t say I would attend to potholes. That was it. I respond to all sorts of complaints and insults. I am the most visible and accessible minister on Twitter. I report everything to the public,” he said.

The minister said he has always been transparent about his department's programmes and would not be deterred by social media users criticising him.

Mbalula also shared a report by the Road Traffic Management Corporation on the Pongola crash, revealing the truck driver had been driving in the oncoming lane for about 1.2km. 

“The driver recklessly overtook vehicles and drove in the oncoming lane for approximately 1.2km. Vehicles had to swerve out of the way. The driver made no attempt to return to his lane.

“Driver error is the major factor in the cause of the route crash,” the report found.

At least two other truck accidents came to light in the days following the horror Pongola crash, with Mbalula saying drivers are often reckless.

Sharing a video of a truck colliding with a white SUV on the R72 towards East London, the minister said “reckless driving has reached unacceptable heights”, adding it was one of many examples of dangerous behaviour on the roads.

The KwaZulu-Natal government this week called for immediate interventions, including erecting speed bumps and increasing traffic law enforcement to prevent further carnage on its roads.

“We cannot sit and relax while trucks are terrorising communities and other road users. We will also meet truck companies for them to deal with their drivers who are bullying other roads users,” said acting premier Nomagugu Simelane.

She said government will meet the SA National Roads Agency to discuss expanding the N2 Pongola strip.

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