Villagers slam rickety R3 million bridge that’s ‘not a bridge’

Residents of Sendedza village in Siloam, Venda, in Limpopo, had hoped that the Makhado Local Municipality’s plan to construct a bridge for them would make their lives easier, but the low-lying structure has since become almost as big a danger as not having a bridge at all.

Tender documents show that the R3 million tender to construct the bridge and grade 37km of roads in the area was awarded to PHEM Consulting and Project Managers in 2021. Work on the bridge was completed in March.

However, upon visiting the area this past week, The Citizen was met with a group of dissatisfied villagers, who say that the bridge had started to crack just a few days after it was handed over.

‘This thing will kill us’

“We will die this time, we almost died in February when it rained heavily, this stream overflowed and flooded our homes. You see all these rocks and debris? They flowed here with the heavy rains, now they are going to block these small concrete pipes and make the stream overflow,” complained resident Phungo Matodzi.

He is concerned that the bridge could collapse under the weight of vehicles passing over it.

“This thing is not stable and won’t last. Bakkies collecting water can’t drive over because it’s already problematic.”

Her neighbour Mavis Makungane said when she heard they were getting a bridge, she didn’t expect a low-lying structure filled with cement and rocks, but a raised bridge which is safe for pedestrians and vehicles.

“I expected relief to shield us from the upcoming rainy season. This stream was overflowing, taking our fences and chicken coops from our yards with it.

“We were better off without this weak bridge. It’s going to cause problems.”

“Temporary work is expensive because it needs fixing in the long run. They could have raised the structure, we can’t drive over this thing,” he said as he made a U-turn in his delivery van.

Chairperson of the local traditional council Wilson Ramese said he expected much better work after the heavy rains.

According to DA councillor Aaron Madavha, the concrete slab of the bridge is less than 5cm thick, with a huge amount of loose soil underneath.

“There were also heaps of soil that were left in the middle of the river after the construction. Residents of Sendedza village are afraid to use the flimsy structure and fear it might be unsafe. Residents also fear it might be swept away when it rains.

“We believe these are as a result of poor workmanship by the contractors appointed to carry out the bridge’s construction.”

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Contractor says budget was not enough

Responding to The Citizen questions, PHEM Consulting head Livhuwani Netshimbupfe said the R3 million budgeted for the project was not meant for Sendedza only, and that she also had to re-gravel streets in the area using the same budget.

“We put the concrete and cement and slab on top. There was no concrete in the specifications, we decided to do that to enhance the bridge.

“We did five other bridges that side, and they have no slabs. The measurement for the structure was 600cm, but we made it 900cm, because we saw that the bridge needed to be higher. I spent a lot for that bridge,” she said.

She alleged that someone deliberately drove over the bridge with a heavy motor vehicle and damaged it. The municipality requested her to go fix the cracks.

She claims the project has left her penniless and unable to pay her workers.

“I followed the specifications and even went beyond the budget. I even told the project manager I was tired because there really was no profit. The re-gravel was actually 43km, and not 36km, we did the calculations. I owe the owner of the grader R85,000. I even owe some of the workers too.”

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‘Water will always be there’

According to Makhado’s technical director George Ralishuku, the PHEM work was not budgeted for, but was part of the disaster management projects following the heavy rains earlier this year.

He accused the residents of “playing politics”, regarding the bridge’s flaws.

“Sitting in the office now, I cannot confirm whether the structure is safe or not. That community is playing politics in the project. That is a service delivery project,” he said.

He also denied that the structure is a bridge at all, saying it is actually a culvert.

“We were doing culverts under disaster management in those areas identified during the rainy seasons. A culvert is built for low level water to pass, you can’t pass there when it is covered with water.”

When asked whether the community will ever get a proper bridge that would channel heavy rains and enable them to drive over, Ralishuku said residents must follow municipal processes if they needed a bridge.

“They must follow the IDP process – meaning they approach their councillor to request a bridge. We as the municipality will put the priority list together, and appoint an engineer who will go design a bridge for that area.

“You do not come out when the project is completed and complain about water. Water will always be there. We are not saying we were stopping the water. I’ll go there this week and check on the stability issues they are raising,” he said.

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