Kutama residents barricade road to demand that repairs continue

The community’s frustration with empty promises from politicians boiled over into unrest last week when the D3715 road between Kutama and Sinthumule was blocked with rocks and various debris.

In 2022, the Limpopo Department of Public Works and Infrastructure informed Kutama residents that Phase 1 of the D3715 road rehabilitation (3.5km from Madabani to Madodonga) would commence in January 2023 and was scheduled for completion by April. The department also promised to start Phase 2 (8.11km from Madodonga to Tshikwarani) by May. While Phase 1 was completed, the department failed to fulfil its promise to continue with the second phase and complete the road rehabilitation.

On Wednesday and Thursday (1 and 2 November), residents of Kutama barricaded the D3715 road to voice their concerns about its poor condition. They used various obstacles to block access, some of which were set on fire. This left hundreds of commuters stranded, with workers unable to reach their workplaces, and children forced to walk long distances to and from school. Motorists had to use alternative routes.

One of the protesters, Mr Samuel Mudau, told the media that they had been in contact with the Road Agency Limpopo (RAL) and the Department of Public Works for an extended period, but no fruitful results had been achieved. “We closed the road to express our grievances to the municipality and the government, so they can seriously address our issues. We are tired of driving on these dangerously potholed roads and fed up with empty promises from these departments. We demand answers from the MEC for Public Works and Infrastructure, in writing. We will not be satisfied until things start moving. Service delivery remains the core responsibility of local government, along with addressing the concerns of communities to prevent protests like this,” he said.

The chairperson of the Zoutpansberg Community Development Forum (ZCDF), Mr Patrick Sikhutshi, mentioned that his organisation had met with the department and the roads agency on 25 October. “As we had agreed with them in June, the department was supposed to introduce a contractor to begin the work. To everyone’s surprise, they brought a consulting engineer to the meeting who discussed the preliminary status of the scope of work. This was rejected by ZCDF and the wider community because it did not align with the previous resolutions of the meeting,” Sikhutshi explained.

Regarding the protest, he noted that they had immediately issued a statement requesting that the protest should not disrupt schooling in any way. “We are pleased that this call was respected. ZCDF will organize a full-fledged action after the school exams if nothing positive has been done by then,” he said.

Date:09 November 2023

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.

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