Community members from the Sinthumule and Kutama areas are accusing the Limpopo MEC for Public Works, Dickson Masemola, of making empty promises. The MEC visited the area on 7 December last year and promised that teams would start fixing the potholes in the roads the next day. Nothing has, however, happened over the festive season.
When Masemola visited the area last year, the state of the two roads leading to the area, the D959 and D3715, was high on the agenda. The MEC made a promise that teams would start with rehabilitation work on the roads on 8 December. Masemola said that R11,5 million had been set aside to fix the two roads.
In his address, the MEC said that the condition of the roads had been evaluated. The potholes on the D959 road from Louis Trichardt past Madombidzha to the Makhado Air Force Base and the D3715 road from Madabani to Tshikhodo are endangering the lives of motorists and pedestrians. The local communities have been complaining about these roads for many years. These roads have claimed many lives the past few years and caused damage to many vehicles.
Masemola also paid a visit to the Sinthumule Royal house to meet with Thovhele Vho-Rudzani Sinthumule. "This is part of the continuing work to visit, inspect and experience first-hand what road users go through on a daily basis (and) is part of the preparation for resolving the road infrastructure challenges in the province," Masemola said. "We urge community members and all stakeholders to cooperate during the rehabilitation process," he added when promising that the work would start soon.
The Zoutpansberg Community Development Forum, who were representing the community, welcomed the MEC's visit. The chairperson of the forum, Mr Patrick Sikhutshi, urged MEC Masemola to 'speedily develop a project implementation plan' in order to address road infrastructure challenges in the area. "We want proper roads. If you are going to fix the two roads, you need to first fix the bridge; they go hand in hand."
On 14 December last year, the forum initiated a total shutdown of services in the area. A march was held, and a memorandum of grievances was handed over to the representatives of the Makhado Municipality and the Vhembe District Municipality. This initiative was supported by the traditional leaders, the taxi associations and business forums. Apart from the bad state of the roads, the grievances also included problems with the water and electricity supply.