MBABANE – Reinstated Road Safety Council Chairperson Dr Fortunate Shabalala has called for the introduction of mandatory licence revocation for serious traffic offenders.
The chairperson highlighted that the current system is too lenient and fails to deter dangerous behaviour on Eswatini’s roads.
Speaking during the appointment of the new Road Safety Council yesterday, Dr Shabalala said the council would prioritise developing a clear formula to determine when a driver’s licence should be revoked. She said the country could no longer rely on fines and warnings alone, especially when road accidents and fatalities continue to rise despite ongoing safety campaigns.
Dr Shabalala said recent court judgments, including a ruling by Magistrate Fikile Nhlabatsi in which a drink-driver’s licence was revoked, demonstrated that revocation a necessary tool in promoting road safety. She added that similar rulings had been delivered in the past by other judicial officers, indicating that the justice system is increasingly recognising the severity of irresponsible driving.
However, she stressed that licence revocation should not depend solely on the discretion of magistrates but must instead be formalised in law and policy. “The time has come for the revocation of driver’s licences to be made mandatory when a person is found to have committed serious unlawful acts on our roads,” she said.
The Road Safety Council chair explained that the new council intends to formulate a clear determinant or threshold for revocation, whether revocation should apply after the first major offence, after repeated reckless conduct, or after a final warning.
“We need to formulate a determinant of when the behaviour of the offender warrants a licence revocation—whether it is at the start, when they commit a grave offence, or whether we should begin by issuing a warning,” she said.
She said the council is committed to completing policy work already initiated by the outgoing council to ensure that revocation becomes a permanent and enforceable provision in road safety legislation. This includes strengthening the review of the Road Traffic Act of 1982 and ensuring that the Act aligns with modern traffic realities.
Dr Shabalala further criticised current fines as being ‘too small’ and inadequate for the gravity of the offences committed. “Some of the fines are as small as E60. They are too lenient. Most offenders can afford to pay them easily, and that is where the problem lies,” she said.
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... ‘nkwe’ philosophy to guide council – Dr Shabalala
MBABANE – The Road Safety Council Chairperson Dr Fortunate Shabalala highlighted the philosophy of ‘nkwe’ under which the new council hopes to operate.
Drawing comparisons to the speed of the Concorde aircraft, which travels at approximately 2 000km/h, she said this philosophy would guide the council towards swift, impactful implementation of road safety programmes.
“We need to attribute His Majesty’s ‘nkwe’ directive to that kind of speed and use it as we work to ensure we achieve our mandate as the Road Safety Council,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Public Works and Transport, Chief Ndlaluhlaza Ndwandwe, said the newly-appointed council, whose term will run for three years, would be required to coordinate efficient programmes aligned with the 2023–2030 action plan. He said the council must demonstrate clear implementation and tangible impact.
He praised the achievements of the previous council, including winning the Kofi Annan Road Safety Award for its action plan and initiating the review of the outdated 1982 Act.
*Full article available in our publication
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