By Rachel Mohamed
A recent incident involving an 11-year-old boy Lifalethu Mbasana who is a learner at Simon’s Town Primary School has left him traumatized after walking 35 kilometers from Simons Town to Khayelitsha on foot on Monday.
This comes after the Golden Arrow Bus driver denied him entry to board the bus because the child could not produce his ticket leaving him stranded in the area. The bus driver has since been suspended from his duties and might face disciplinary actions as investigations continue from GABS.
The boy’s story has been trending on social media with the public debating whether the driver did the right thing by leaving the child behind and others saying the driver was merely doing his job. The mother used social media platforms to post his picture and report him missing to the police, as the boy did not make it home on time and ended up venting her frustration about this difficult journey of her son.
Speaking on VOC Breakfast on Thursday, Crime Activist, child, and human rights defender Zona Morton spoke about the dangers the boy faced alone while trekking home.
“It is of great concern that this incident of the child left stranded has happened because the safety of the child is of paramount importance when facing dangerous situations on our roads”.
“We have a massive number of children faced with walking home long distances who live in rural areas and the fact that the children walking home unprotected is not an isolated incident”.
“What concerns me the most is the two adults who have acted irresponsibly. One is the Golden Arrow Bus driver who refused access to the bus and the other person giving a lift to the child in Simons Town to Strandfontein. So, these two adults have endangered the child”.
Morton has further raised her concerns about the safety of learners traveling on public transport and felt that more needs done by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to play a big role in assisting these learners.
“This is a systematic problem, and we should encourage the Department of Basic Education to also play its part in ensuring the safety of learners in traveling to school and from home”.
“We can encourage them to sit down with Golden Arrow Bus Services and negotiate concessions for these children, get them a ticket, and let them travel free of charge when wearing school uniforms at the cost of basic education because the department plays an important role on the provincial and national government level”.
“It’s important to say scholars monitor and with many volunteers in terms of neighborhood watches, we can ensure children get to the buses safely. And the premier announced that job seekers can travel for free when they apply so that can also be done for the children”, she concluded.
VOC News
Photo: Stock Images
