Truck flattens family shack in Lydenburg

Malepe and her children weren’t home at the time. The next morning she said, “Ngibonga uNkulunkulu” when Steelburger/ Lydenburg News visited her. It means “Thank you Lord”. The truck from Pangolin Bulk apparently lost control, drove over the fence and came to a standstill on Malepe’s shack. The Lydenburg SAPS stated they received complaints about community members throwing rocks at the trucks and that is what caused the accident.

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The owners of Pangolin Bulk gave the assurance on Monday that they will help rebuild the shack and assist the family with materials to do so. The trucks using the 12-ton maximum Frichgewaagd/ Mosterhoek Road are a point of contention for the community and landowners as a court interdict prohibits them from doing so. There was also community unrest on Wednesday June 16 when they blocked the entrances to the road from the Burgersfort Road and the Roossenekal Road.

In the ruling from a judge in the High Court order prohibiting trucks to drive through Lydenburg it stated: “Truck companies are refusing to comply with the alternative routes, stating that it will affect them financially. They are damaging the roads, making money while the municipality is suffering. The drivers also ignore the road signs and the Long Tom Pass cannot continue to accommodate heavy trucks. The municipality has fixed the roads continuously and the very same trucks are damaging them. The municipality does not have the resources to constantly fix the roads.” This resulted in the truck owners urging their drivers to use the Frichgewaagd/ Mosterhoek Road. According to landowner, Emma Düring, Thaba Chweu Local Municipality and the traffic department are responsible by law to erect a 12-ton maximum road sign on the road and they should direct the truck not to use the road.

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The trucks are not allowed to use the road, since it is against the road traffic act and regulations. “We moved to this area in 2020 we decided to live on the Frichgewaagd/ Mosterhoek Road. One reason was the heavy heavy truck traffic and road conditions on Badfontein Road. Now we are in a situation we tried to avoid. Gerhard Terblanche handed in a petition of over 300 signatures to the proper authorities. There are frequent accidents here. The community has to sleep with masks on as there is so much dirt and dust in the air. And now a family was nearly killed, it can’t go on like this. Everyone is turning a blind eye,” said Düring.

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