ON Tuesday, July 15, the day schools re-opened after the winter recess, the bright sunshine heralded another fresh beginning for the children of Kagiso Extension 12 who have to cross the busy main road every school day, often at great risk to their lives.

A new set of robots was officially switched on.

At the short prayer session to mark the opening of the robots, the Executive Mayor of Mogale City, Lentswe Mokgatlhe reminded the gathering about the upcoming general elections and urged them to ensure they each had valid identity documents so they could be eligible to vote. In another world, the mere installation of traffic lights would be looked upon as a non-event but for the people of Extension 12 and others who are forced to use the Geba Street/ Randfontein Road intersection, this is big news and a relief.

The intersection had long been a cause for concern. Many pupils crossing the road between the two locations had never made it to their desks as some had been run over by speeding vehicles.

Some have never arrived back home, much to the grief of their parents.

A few adult lives have also been lost on this infamous road.

So serious had the "Killer Road" become that it had once been the subject of a radio talk show.

Next to speak after the Executive Mayor was the motherly Sister Bernard Ncube, the Mayor of the West Rand District Municipality.

She stressed the importance of pedestrian safety and slammed the jaywalking that had contributed so much to the death toll on the busy road.

The most important point on the day was perhaps the one made by Dedrick Kekae, a local councillor, who capably served as Master of Ceremonies.

"While the robots are not meant for the exclusive use of Extension 12 residents, we need to take ownership thereof. We must make sure that they are not vandalised," Kekae said.

The erection of the robots could not have happened at a better time as the residents can now use them to teach their children about road safety, Kekae added.

The crowd, led by the two Mayors, shortly left the venue of the prayer session to the site of the official switch on.

As the singing residents followed, it was clearly a case of the Mogale City Mayor "walking the talk" as he continually waved to on-lookers with a broad smile on his face.

At the crossroads, it was left to Terry Gumede (6) of Lesedi Creche to do the honours on behalf of the Mayor who found it cumbersome to mount the main switch.

In no time the flow of traffic was controlled by the red, green and amber of robots, not left to the discretion of motorists anymore.

The crowds clapped excitedly as happy parents realised the days of the "Killer Road" had finally come to an end.
- Dikgang Tsa Mogale, August 2003