– as St Cuthbert’s Mission bid farewell to accident victims
In light of the carnage on the country’s roadways over the past few months, the Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister with Responsibility for Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy revealed that the Government is currently working to promote good practices on the nation’s roadways.
These were the sentiments of the Minister on Saturday during a memorial service at St Cuthbert’s Mission to celebrate the lives of the late 63-year-old Olivia Andrews, her daughter 29-year-old Athina Andrews, and granddaughter 6-year-old Emma Andrews who lost their lives along the St Cuthbert’s Mission trail.
Whilst paying tribute to the victims, Minister McCoy highlighted that the issue of the reckless behaviours on the roadway is not unique to the community, but it is a nationwide scourge that the Government is currently facing.
“And this is not unique to this village, by the way, and over the last few weeks, as we observed and saw the many accidents involving truck and truck drivers and people would comment, no more than 15 times at the top of my memory, I’ve had to say to people, yes, truck drivers are involved, but we are equally involved and responsible because there are many of us and all of us who terribly use the road sometimes.”
On this point the Minister noted that this issue must be addressed, however, he explained that tackling this issue would not be an easy task.
“How do we intend to curb, to change our attitude, the manner of the usage of the road, so that we preserve our own lives and we preserve the lives of others? And so, there is a lot of work to be done. There’s a lot of work to be done.”
The Minister added. “And I would be first and equal in this partnership as we seek to educate people about good road practices. I will be the first and amongst the equal to help in designing all of the messages and all of the necessary things.”
Additionally, the Minister extended condolences to the family on behalf of President Dr Irfaan Ali and the Cabinet.
“We heard Athina and all her achievements, not only as a beauty queen of this village but also as an example of the modern times of our country, where women are stepping up to the task and are breaking the barriers and stepping into the arenas that were once held out to be those that men are only meant to dwell in and around. “
He further stated “We heard our little Emma, how much she meant to her family and her teacher and her fellow pupils. I listened to every comment very carefully and I’m satisfied that these three souls, these three individuals, in their lifetime would have made an impact on many lives, would have affected our lives in positive ways.”
