DaTruth

RIP, my condolences for all that lost their loved one, hope 1 day they will find a way to forgive the man it was not his intention to take away your love ones. Having said that heads must still roll, someone have to take the wrap for this catastrophe, 1way or another.
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ntyantya

May the souls of the departed rest in peace and perpetual light shine upon them. If I may ask without sounding insensetive, why should the farmer be arrested for a driver that was reckless and palyed God with our people's lives? unless they are saying the farmer was the master mind behind this horrible incident.
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uMnuz

Lost for words... Condolences to all the families affected by this needless tragedy.
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IamTheFinalSay

@ntyantya
i am with you, i also don't understand why the farmer should be arrested? Were the PUTCO CEOs arrested in the latest PUTCO bus crash in which 19 or so people died?
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Mrazane

When will people take responsibility for their actions, why is the farmer and truck owner being bought into this? If it is said the truck had faulty brakes that we reported and the farmer/truck owner refused to fix it then I can understand mara out of the blue nje...? hayi man. If we going to play the blame game then the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Transport must also be arrested for not ensuring the rights of farms workers are protected and the transport department for failing to point manned booms at all level crossing how is that for a good strong blame culture?

Sorry to the familiies may God give you strength.
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Tshikhokhonono

@ntyantya & IamTheFinalSay
The farmer's fault is to transport people in a closed truck that had no seats, windows or proper ventilation in place. The victims did not see the truck approaching the level crossing and many of those died could have survived had the truck had safety at the back where the workers stood up.
Some farmer over the weekend was seen transporting workers in a trailer pulled by a tractor.
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thathakonke

Shame man, imagine all those children who were declared orphans on Saturday by someone who palyed God with their parents. May their souls rest in peace. I really hope something is done regarding this level crossing incident.
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somaartakeit

@Tshikhokhonono the cause of death is linked to the truck not having windows/seats/or ventilation at the back where workers were being transported? Anything to blame the farmer neh?
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golly459

May the souls of all 24 rest in peace, Condolences to all the families

As they said,"Motorists must remember that the train has 100% right of way at a level crossing and should stop when they approach one," "A train can't slow down but a car can.
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Even if the truck brake and everthing was not working why the driver did not turn the truch hit a tree or anything instead of going strait to the train (Truck driver's fault)
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@Tshikhokhonono
To transport people in a closed truck that had no seats, windows or proper ventilation in place. The victims did not see the truck approaching the level crossing and many of those died could have survived had the truck had safety at the back where the workers stood up. Definately agree with you(Farmer's Fault) both must be arrested.

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TDK

Minister is making reckless statement, which he doesn't justify.
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Phuphethakatha

It's absolutely the driver's fault. That has got nothing to do with the farmer, unless he was the one driving the truck at the time.
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David-

Why should the Farmer be prosecuted?
Is he the owner of the truck, the artical suggest that he wasnt

As for been a closed truck
The Congress of SA Trade Unions spokesman Patrick Craven said the accident was an example of poor labour practices.

“This terrible tragedy exposes once again the scandal of workers bring transported in open trucks. In a country where drivers and passengers of cars are legally obliged to wear seatbelts, how can we tolerate workers being transported with absolutely no protection in the event of an accident?” He called for a full inquiry into the cause of the accident.
http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2012/07/13/20-people-die-when-truck-collides-with-train

@Tshikhokhonono and Vgolly459
In future these farm workers should arrange their own transport to and from work just like the rest of us

Most farmers dont have extra money to purchase vechiles solely for the transport of workers and unless he is transporting workers between areas for work purposes, there is no need for him to do so.

The only person that should be charged is the driver if he is still alive as he caused the accident
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Phuphethakatha

Some farmer over the weekend was seen transporting workers in a trailer pulled by a tractor.
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Workers are transported using the same vehicle that's meant for work purposes and that's common practice. Construction workers use the same construction trucks/bakkies to travel to the site and back. That's good for cutting costs as you don't want to have an additional driver and vehicle just to transport workers to the site! It's worse for farmers as they have to save in every way they can.
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golly459

@David-
@Tshikhokhonono and Vgolly459 In future these farm workers should arrange their own transport to and from work just like the rest of us

Most farmers dont have extra money to purchase vechiles solely for the transport of workers and unless he is transporting workers between areas for work purposes, there is no need for him to do so.

The only person that should be charged is the driver if he is still alive as he caused the accident

===================I do understand you but if the farmers can able to pay reasonable salary, farm workers would be able to afford the public transport just like everybody else, so if you dot want to pay reasonable salary is beta give them reasonable transport* both Driver and the Farmer need to be arrested*
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David-

What is a reasonable wage for a farm worker?
For the most part they constitute unskilled labor which means that they earn low salaries.

If they can not afford the transport costs to and from work then they should look for something closer.

The farmer has no obligation to provide transport for workers unless it is specifically stated in their contract. Just like any normal job

In this case there has been no mention of the farmer been the owner of the truck in fact the article suggest that he wasn’t. So why is he in the firing line?

The blame in this case rest solely on the idiot driver

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knobkirrie

Like I said (shaharazad) when the story came out, the govt should take responsibilty for allowing transportation of people in unsuitable vehicles designed to ferry goods. In other countries, people are not allowed to be ferried in goods vehicles, and SA is not Mali or Mauritania where there is a lack of suitable vehicles. Legislation should be passed to make it unlawful to transport people in vehicles 'not fit for purpose'. Convicting the driver and the farmer is like covering a gaping wound with a newspaper, in the hope it will heal
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David-

People who transport others have to have a PDP and the vechile must be fit to tansport people, there is already legislation in place to cover this.

The Farmer was not the owner of the truck so leave him out of it

George Mandlazi's truck ploughed into a coal-train in Hectorspruit near Malelane last Friday, killing 25 seasonal orange pickers
http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/6d2b8e004c04850cb7c9ffa583a5af00/Mpumalanga-truck-driver-case-postponed-20121807
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