PRETORIA – The City of Tshwane Municipality officials on Friday cycled around town as an initiative to promote an environmentally-friendly mode of transport.

The cycling is part of the Green Mobility Fridays initiative aimed at building awareness that cycling can also assist in decongesting traffic.

#GreenMobilityFriday #CarFreeDay highlights before the ride begun. pic.twitter.com/Jakto51F51

— City of Tshwane (@CityTshwane) October 20, 2017

The cyclists went on a 5km route starting their journey at the Tshwane House at 7am. They cycled up to Sisulu Street and went right into Visagie Street and then right into Paul Kruger Street, through Church Square, and finally right into Madiba Street.

The awarness aims to encourage motorists to be less dependent on their cars and to use public transport like the Tshwane Bus Service, A Re Yeng, Metrorail, Gautrain and taxis.

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“This initiative is all about stepping out of our comfort zone and get into our buses and taxis and on bicycles or do a bit of footwork on both Fridays.

One understands that using public transport might not be as enjoyable as commuting in your own vehicle, but it does ease congestion, reduces emissions and gives you plenty of quality time to get to know your neighbours or people working around your workplace,” said Tshwane’s MMC for Roads and Transport, Sheila-Lynn Senkubuge.

As part of the awareness, the municipality created a car-free zone in Hatfield by closing Burnett Street between Festival and Grosvenor Street from 5am until 5.30pm.

“The Tshwane Green Ride goes beyond the riding of bicycles, as it connects communities that historically were spatially and socially divided and thus serves as a social connector. It is also of great significance to educate our communities about the considerable economic, social and environmental benefits of clean mobility.

This is the reason we want to urge members of the public to join and support these Transport Month activities wherever they are in the city,” said Senkubuge.

African News Agency

Johannesburg – Former president Kgalema Motlanthe says citizens should be concerned about Cabinet reshuffles as they destabilise the state.

He was speaking at the launch of the Olof Palme Youth Education Initiative at Midrand High School, outside Johannesburg, on Friday.

The initiative is aimed at enhancing social values and international solidarity between the youth of Sweden and South Africa.

Motlanthe said it was of concern that when new ministers take up their positions after a Cabinet reshuffle, from their first day on the job they are accompanied by new senior managers.

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“[The new minister comes with] 14 to 16 new senior managers without first going into the department and understanding the strength and institutional memory which resides in the department. You know what that means? It means that the state is being destabilised and weakened,” he said.

He explained that when new people are brought into a department by an incoming minister they find themselves on a steep learning curve and in an environment with little or no institutional memory, leading to a wobbly state and a high turnover of staff at senior management level.

“It shouldn’t happen that way, we should be very very very worried each time there is a reshuffle, it means the entire experienced team is set aside and a new team is brought in, because the state must always be stable,” he said.

‘We should never rest on our laurels’

He explained that the country’s Constitution allows citizens to be active in changing the situation and for democracy to prevail.

“Once we are passive and we are not active, and we don’t know and understand our rights, democracy can go terribly wrong, it can be skewed, and work for those who can afford it and never work for those who can’t afford it,” he said.

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Motlanthe spoke fondly of the close friendship between struggle stalwart Oliver Tambo and former prime minister of Sweden, Olof Palme, saying that it showed their shared values. Tambo, Motlanthe said, was instrumental in helping Palme take the stance he took on apartheid. Tambo would have turned 100 years old this year.

Palme – who was assassinated in 1986 – was one of the few leaders who spoke openly about breaking the shackles of the injustices and unfairness of apartheid. Motlanthe described him as a man who played a massive role in making the world a better place.

“Tambo regarded Palme as one of our own, as a South African, because of his influence in bringing about change in South Africa.

“His life serves as a reminder that we should never rest on our laurels, but continue to fight for a better life,” said Motlanthe, encouraging students to make the work of Tambo and Palme their own.