26 May 2005

By Clifford Mogotsi

MOGALE City's public safety department has signed a three-year lease agreement with debis Fleet Management (dFM), and recently received 20 brand-new traffic vehicles.

At the handing over of the cars, speakers said the partnership was a boost to traffic law enforcement in the city. Miekie Liebenberg, dFM's commercial director, said the support would be ongoing. The company was glad to be in partnership with Mogale.

"Mogale City is our customer and it deserves our support. We will deliver nothing less but world class service," Liebenberg added.

Until it took ownership of the new cars, the public safety unit had had 43 cars, some of which were in bad condition. Otukile Kgadi, the City's infrastructure and fleet management director, said the new 1.60 I Toyota Corollas would provide efficient mobility for the City's traffic officers.

"With this partnership with dFM, we are ensuring increased visibility and rapid response to emergencies."

dFM provides mobility solutions for vehicle fleet owners, and road safety has been one of its key priorities. Its partnership with Mogale City is part of its active efforts to reduce the carnage on the country's roads.

Another major road safety initiative is The Global Road Safety Partnership, a project aimed at increasing road safety awareness among children. dFM's R500 000 sponsorship will assist in the establishment of traffic schools throughout the country.

Bizos Katane, the head of the City's public safety portfolio, hailed the partnership. "We have taken some of our officers to the college to advance their skills, we have introduced new blue uniforms and now we have brand new cars. We are on the right track to improving our department."

The traffic policy regarding the use of cars was reinforced when the new cars were delivered. One of the clauses in the policy stipulates that cars should be brought back to the traffic office yard after work. It also forbids officers from driving traffic cars to their homes without permission.

Councillor William Modise urged officers to care for their new cars. "We are not going to allow officers to misuse these cars as they are not meant for personal use."

Cornel Mackay, the public safety director, applauded dFM for the contribution it had made to Mogale City. "We are glad that dFM has an agreement with us and surely this will serve the needs of rate payers."

Road offenders have been warned to watch out for the red, white and blue traffic cars that are now operating around the city.

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