What are the chances of a crash happening during a public safety official’s televised interview on the state of a road notorious for accidents? In a very ironic twist of fate, that’s exactly what happened in the background of an interview with South Africa’s SABC television news station.
Regional public safety committee chairperson, Mahlakeng Mahlakeng, was talking to a journalist about the problems with the Lichtenburg-Koster road that has cost millions, yet remains unfinished.
“As we speak, the road continues to kill our people,” Mahlakeng said. “The road continues to be more expensive … The last amount that we were given by the department was R220m, that was spent already on this particular road.”
At that point, we see a baby blue-sedan towing a white vehicle speeding past Mahlakeng before it swiveled to avoid an unpaved section of the road, with both cars crashing into a field, narrowly missing a pedestrian!
In all fairness, we should mention that the driver was going way too fast for a car that was towing another vehicle.
The 50km (31 miles) stretch of road in South Africa’s North West is riddled with pot holes, which has not only become a headache for drivers, with many lives lost and vehicles damages, but has also cost millions in taxes.
In a report dated from last year, Mail&Guardian wrote: “The road, by the way, was supposed to cost R208-million [US$18.8 million] and was supposed to be completed in 2010. The deadline was extended to 2011, but it is still incomplete and has now cost at least R230-million [US$20.8 million], not including all the millions of rands in legal costs and maintenance costs.”
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