ADVERTISEMENT:

 
 

A worker busy removing some paving that has sunk at the rank. 

New R44m Sibasa taxi rank a ticking time bomb?

 

The recently opened Sibasa bus and taxi rank, which became the talk of the town during its official opening, could soon become a white elephant.

The R44 million development by the Thulamela Municipality was opened less than a month ago by Thulamela Mayor Cllr Grace Mahosi. She hailed the facility as the best and that it would change the lives of the residents for the better. It has, however, already shown signs of poor workmanship. Mahosi emphasised that quality was not compromised during the construction phase and that was the reason they had had to terminate the contract of the previous contractor "as she was doing shoddy work".

Unfortunately, the paving at the new rank is already sinking and there are fears that the rank will cave in. People now fear using the facility, calling for the municipality to provide a space for buses while the taxi rank is fixed.

Signs that something was amiss showed up on Monday after heavy rains fell in the Vhembe district. Bus drivers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that they are afraid that their buses would be swallowed by the ground. “We are not taking any risks. That is the reason we are not parking at the loading and parking bays. This area is not safe and we just hope that our municipalities will act swiftly and resolve the problem before lives are lost or people are injured,” one of the drivers said.

An executive member of the Vhembe Bus Association, Mr Christopher Nevhutalu, urged the government to put its things right before handing facilities to residents. “We are very concerned about the safety of our passengers and we urge the government to prepare a parking space for us while they fix the problem at the rank. The rank is a time bomb that is waiting for an opportune time to explode and lives could be lost if nothing is done,” he said.

Mr Ndwamato Tshiila,Thulamela Municipality's spokesperson, confirmed that they know about the damage caused as a result of the heavy rains that fell in Vhembe over the weekend. He urged the public "not press panic buttons. We have the retention fund that is left when we pay the contractor. The money will be used for any damage that might be found. We will take care of this in no time," he promised.

Closed for vehicles. Cones block buses from using a part that has been affected by the heavy rain.

The deserted bus rank after drivers felt not safe, fearing that the rank might cave in.

Part of the bus rank that is feared might collapse.

 

Date:21 March 2016

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

Read: 8933

 

ADVERTISEMENT

 

ADVERTISEMENT:

ADVERTISEMENT:

 

Recent Articles

ADVERTISEMENT

 

Popular Articles