Community protest over road upgrade affects schooling

Residents of Mabitsi and Seriting villages near Marblehall, Limpopo, vowed to continue with their protest demanding a tarred linking road.

The protest on Friday affected five schools as residents shut them down. Residents have been demanding for MEC for public works, roads and infrastructure Nkakareng Rakgoale to address them and account for the D4328 road that runs through a couple of  villages resulting in the disruption of learning in the area since last week.

The protests come after the Limpopo government battles to resolve a backlog of about 13,000km of roads that need to be upgraded across the province.

Community leader Kali Maelana said following a mass meeting on Saturday, residents took a decision to continue with the shutdown in the area on Monday.

“Until today, we have not been given timelines about the construction of our road. We also want the MEC to come down and address us,” Maelana said.

Maelana said the department has been making promises to start with the project which covers approximately 10kms, but nothing was happening. He said the condition of the gravel road had worsened in recent months due to heavy rains making it difficult for residents to move around.

“Unfortunately there will be no schooling tomorrow [today] because we are shutting down the area until we get what we want,” Maelana said.

Another resident Collins Malesoba said the community had been pleading for a road upgrade for years. Malesoba said during rainy seasons the local Ngwaritsi River gets flooded, making it impossible for people to cross because there is no proper bridge.

“We are just tired of waiting and want the government to fix this problem soon,” he said.  

Spokesperson for the provincial department of education, Mike Maringa, said according to their team’s assessment the most affected schools were Mahlare Senior Secondary and Lekometse Primary, while three other schools in the area were expected to resume with teaching and learning as normal.

Maringa said they were concerned that residents were using schools as a bargaining chip to get a new road, adding that the community should direct their concerns at the relevant departments.

“This has got absolutely nothing to do with learners. Unfortunately learners will struggle to catch up with their studies because of this,” Maringa said.

Spokesperson for the provincial department of public works, roads and infrastructure, Witness Tiva, said they were attending to the issues, adding that the Roads Agency Limpopo (RAL) had appointed consultants to work on designs before a contractor can be appointed.

mahopoz@sowetan.co.za