Mpumalanga wins national road-safety debate competition

A team from Mpumalanga represented the province at the National Road Safety Debate, as well as the Participatory Education Techniques (PET) competition and won the rural categories of both competitions on Friday night in Bloemfontein in the Free State.

The competitions were held from Monday, 23 September and were a culmination of work that started in schools and then proceeded to the provincial level.

FEATURE IMAGE: Khula Secondary School in Nkomazi was the winner of the PET rural category of the competition.

The province was competing against Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Free State, Northwest and Western Cape provinces.

*The best speaker in the Debate urban category was Sithembiso Thomo and best trainer in the PET rural category was Queen Thembekile Mhlongo.*

The Gauteng team was the first runner up followed by the Free State province in the rural category debate.

Each learner of the winning team walked away with R5 000 from the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) and R1 500 from Liberty.

**Left:** Best speaker in the Debate rural category, Sipho Hlebeya, receives his award from Refilwe Mongale of the Road Traffic Management Corporation. **Right:** Bonginkosi Nkalanga receives his award as best trainer in the Debate rural category.

The best speaker in the same category is from the Mpumalanga Team, Sipho Hlebeya. He was awarded with a tablet donated by Syntell. Their trainer, Bhekinkosi Nkalanga, was named the best trainer.

The Western Cape and Limpopo provinces obtained second and third spots, respectively, in the rural category of the PET competition.

The team from Khula Secondary School in the Nkomazi Local Municipality won R70 000 for their school. The funds will be used for road-safety remedial work at the school. Their trainer, Queen Thembekile Mhlongo, took the best trainer accolades in the rural category.

Meanwhile, the province obtained the second and third places in the urban categories of the debate and PET respectively.

The participating learners in debate received R3 000 each from RTMC and R1 500 from Liberty, while the PET learners were presented with tablets that were sponsored by Syntell.

The best speaker in the urban category of the debate was Sithembiso Thomo, who also won a tablet with the compliments of Syntell.

Over and above this, all learners and trainers in positions one, two, and three received trophies and medals.

“The competition is aimed at teaching learners about road safety in an interactive approach,” says Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison spokesperson Moeti Mmusi.

“This project was initiated in 2004 after road-crash statistics show that most of the crashes involved people under 25 years of age. The competition is therefore dedicated to young road users who use the roads as pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, new drivers, and passengers.”

It targets learners from secondary schools between Grade 10 and 11.

MEC Jackie Macie says the learners represented the province extremely well.

“To us, these competitions are crucial because they not only expose learners to road safety challenges, but it enhances their awareness,” he said. “These exceptional learners displayed knowledge, ability to think critically, and public speaking skills. They also showed their commitment to road safety awareness.

“We also wish to thank all the sponsors who contributed significantly to all levels of the competitions. Their generosity also inspired the learners to work harder,” added Macie.