Another R19 million to try and repair D3715 road

The MEC for Public Works, Nkakareng Rakgoale, and Roads Agency Limpopo (RAL) have confirmed that another R19 million has been allocated for the rehabilitation of the D3715 road. The handover ceremony was conducted at Makhado’s council chambers on 9 February. The D3715 road has been the cause of numerous fatal accidents over the past few years.

In 2020, the former MEC for Public Works, Dickson Masemola, announced that R11.5 million had been budgeted to rehabilitate the D959 from Louis Trichardt to the Makhado Air Force Base, as well as the D3715 from Madabani to Tshikhodobo. Construction work on the D959 started in January that same year, and they completed the project around August. However, a shoddy job was done by the contractor, and an investigation was conducted by the SIU. The contractor was forced to return to fix his mess.

In January 2022, yet another R30 million was set aside to try and fix the D3715 road. The first phase, costing R8 million, was used to fix the 3.5 km stretch between Madabani and Madodonga. The balance (R22 million) was allocated to fix the 8.1km stretch between Madodonga and Tshikhodobo. Despite the millions thrown in to try and “patch” parts of the road up, it remains in a terrible state and a danger to road users. Now the current MEC presented a new budget, while many people still ask themselves where the remaining R22-million is that was budgeted for the D3715 road.

On 21 and 22 January, residents of Sinthumule, Kutama, and Tshikota went on a two-day strike in protest of, among other things, the constant lack of water and unreliable electricity supply in parts of the region. But one of their main concerns was the terrible state of roads, especially the D3715, which connects various villages in Sinthumule and Kutama. The protest action was supported by many taxi drivers and bus companies.

According to Rakgoale, the project will be done in two phases and will take nine months to be completed, starting in March this year. The first phase will cover the remaining distance of 5km from Madodonga to Tshikwarani, next to the Kutama clinic. The second phase of the remaining 3.1km will commence after the first phase has been completed. The project is expected to be completed by December this year. Rakgoale urged community members to cooperate with the contractor during the entire construction period, so that there would not be any delays.

The chairperson of the Zoutpansberg Community Development Forum (ZCDF), Mr. Patrick Sikhutshi, said they were very happy about the project and promised that the community would give its full cooperation.

Date:16 February 2024

By: Kaizer Nengovhela

Kaizer Nengovhela started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror in 2000. Prior to that he had a five year stint at Phala-Phala FM as sports presenter. In 2005 Kaizer received an award from the province's premier as Best Sports Presenter. The same year he was also nominated as Best Sports Reporter by the Makhado Municipality. Kaizer was awarded the Mathatha Tsedu award in 2014.

Read: 1701