Following reports of heavy rains last week that caused damage to the main access road that links Dopeni, Shanzha and Tshivhilidulu villages, community members from these villages decided to take matters into their own hands. They hired a TLB and on Thursday, 25 February, started to open a new road that passes through Mutuwafhethu Primary School and Tshilogoni Secondary School.
One of the community members who had involved himself with this project, Mr Richard Thiba, told Limpopo Mirror that the communities had held a meeting and decided to fix the road themselves. "It was very painful to see our kids struggle to get to school. In some cases, parents had to carry their kids on their backs, so that they could help them cross the road. The community cannot not wait for the municipality," he said. "We are opening this temporary road because it is close to the two schools."
On Monday, 1 March, the mayor of Thulamela local municipality, Cllr Avhashoni Tshifhango, visited the damaged road in Tshivhilidulu. He said that he was proud of the communities for showing responsibility. "I am happy that you are not waiting on the municipality, but I also don't recommend that communities build their own roads. If you build a road and it causes problems later on or someone gets injured, you will blame the municipality."
The mayor confirmed that plans for tarring the Tshivhilidulu Road were already in place, adding that they were just waiting to find funds to budget for it.