Residents of Tshiswiswini village in the Tshakhuma area are appealing to the Makhado Municipality to urgently widen the bridges over the Tshamugwena and Mutanda rivers, fearing they could be washed away in future floods.
During the January floods, life in the village came to a standstill for nearly two weeks. Community member Joel Mulaudzi said learners and workers were unable to leave their homes as floodwater overflowed into residential areas.
“Learners and workers could not leave their homes as water was overflowing into our yards. Imagine losing lessons for two weeks. Most of those learners may not have catch-up plans,” he said.
Hundreds of learners from Tshiswiswini attend Ganyane Primary School, Mulangaphuma Primary School, Raluthaga Senior Primary School, Tshiemuemu Secondary School and Maswie Secondary School, all located on the other side of the river.
Limpopo Mirror visited the village on 7 February and saw the Mutanda River, where a narrow bridge connects Tshiswiswini to nearby schools. Mulaudzi said the bridge becomes impassable during heavy rains.
“When it is raining, no one goes to school because the bridge fills up and overflows to the extent that people cannot cross,” he said.
Thomas Ligaraba, chairperson of Tshakhuma Community Development and Service Delivery, and Mulaudzi are calling on the municipality to urgently clear overgrown bushes along the riverbanks and widen the bridges to allow floodwater to flow freely downstream.
A resident living next to the Mutanda River, Tsakani Khoza, described the danger residents faced during the January floods.
“We could see that the water was flowing into our homes, but there was very little we could do. We had to push large stones to block the water from entering our yards,” she said.
At the time of going to press, the Makhado Municipality had yet to respond to a media enquiry about the issue.