Taxi drivers block road to Ha-Masia in protest

Hundreds of workers and learners were left stranded again on Wednesday, 11 May, when taxi drivers blocked the 10km stretch of gravel road from Ha-Mashau to Ha-Masia, protesting against the poor condition of the road. The taxi operators are calling on the Department of Public Works to fix or tar the damaged road.

Mashau falls under the jurisdiction of the Collins Chabane Municipality. One of the members of the Vuwani Taxi Association using the Mashau route, Mr Martin Malabi, said they were promised a tarred road by the Department of Public Works long ago. He said that the road was causing damage to their vehicles. “We have spent a lot of money fixing our vehicles because of this bad gravel road. Our government doesn’t care about us. It breaks my heart to see sick people crying from pain caused by the bumpy ride to the healthcare facilitates.” He said that the taxi association and several community structures had gone to the Department of Public Works on numerous occasions to complain, but that nothing was done about it.

A taxi driver from the area, Mr Ndanduleni Mashanyu, told Limpopo Mirror that they could no longer work under these conditions. He said that this issue had first been reported to the Department of Public Works in 2011. “We want the MEC for Public Works, Dickson Masemola, to come here and tell us when they are going to fix our roads. If he doesn’t, we will continue to block the road. We have to fix our taxis every day with the little money we get. We are saying enough is enough,” he said.

Spokesperson for the Department of Public Works Mr Joel Seabi said the department was aware of the situation. “Due to the heavy rainfall during the past months, the department has noted a number of roads damaged in different communities.”

Date:19 May 2022

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: 682