Zoeknog residents block R40 with demands for new road
The protesters in the area are threatening to continue to block the R40 until their demands are met.
The R40 between Acornhoek and Casteel was closed on January 24 due to a service delivery protest by the residents of Zoeknog Village.
The road is blocked by a tipper truck, some rocks and broken bottles. The police are on the scene, monitoring the situation.
The residents are demanding the tar road they were promised last year by the provincial government. They threaten to continue with the protest until their demands are met.
They also claim that the road is in a very bad condition, and while they tried to engage the Mpumalanga Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport (DPWRT) for many years, nothing happened. They say they are now using the only language government understands; a protest, and bringing everything to a standstill.
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The DPWRT’s spokesperson, Bongani Dhlamini, said the project was advertised for construction in August. However, because of budget constraints, the department was instructed to refer the request to Treasury.
“Some of the road infrastructure budget allocations for 2024/25 unfortunately show that our road infrastructure budget will be reduced substantially compared to previous financial years. Also, Treasury issued a circular that projects that have not been started yet must be halted due to budgetary constraints. As a result, projects that had been advertised to start in quarter 4 of the 2023/24 financial year or in 2024/25, have to be deferred,” he said.
Dhlamini said the Zoeknog project is one of these affected projects, and promised that the department would send a road maintenance team in the meantime to ensure the roads are safe for all users.
