The very busy road connecting Shabalala and Sand River villages is deteriorating by the day due to non-maintenance.
Residents in the area, of whom a large portion also have not had drinkable water for a decade, are now forced to contend with this hazard as well. The ward councillor, Sipho Makhubela, said he had tried many times to raise the issue with the City of Mbombela (CoM), but just as with the water, it has all fallen on deaf ears.
ALSO READ: Sand River water woes continue for residents
Unemployed locals have started to fill in the potholes and raise some income for themselves by begging for money from the road users. With constant rain in the area, the road has now deteriorated to the point where it needs to be totally rebuilt.
One of Sand River’s residents, Sbusiso Malandule, said he personally had several meetings with Makhubela regarding the road, but nothing happened. “During my last meeting in March 2023, he told me that they were waiting for a budget so that they could fix the road, but to this day, nothing has happened. I went as far as asking if they could at least maintain it so that it would be usable, but nothing happened. I think for them to fix the roads, they want the community to embark on protests to close the road before they attend to it.”
ALSO READ: Sand River waterless for seven years
Vusi Mashego, another Sand River resident, echoed Malandule, saying that the only way the road would be fixed is for the community to protest, “because that is the only language the government understands.
” He said this road leads to clinics, schools and social services departments. “The fact that we are addressing the municipality in a polite manner is the reason why they are not attending to it. We now have two options, as a community, to get the road fixed: vote them out or get into the street and make sure that area is maintained, because it’s the only language they know and will pay attention to.”
The CoM’s spokesperson, Joseph Ngala, acknowledged having received Mpumalanga News media enquiry and promised to respond. The paper has not received his reply by the time of publishing.
