Residents of Elliotdale's Casa neighborhood are demanding answers about their roads.Photo: Provided
Members of the Casa local community in Elliotdale threatened the government that they would not vote if the roads were not maintained and tarred.
They protested and demanded that Mbashe Municipality Mayor Councilor Samkelo Janda listen to their grievances.
One protester, Nomfundiso Phuka, said their road was last repaired in 1999 and nothing has been done since then.
She said they were having a hard time getting their loved ones to Madwaleni Hospital when something went wrong.
“The roads are so bad that it is difficult to call an ambulance. When someone gets sick, we have to spend R800 to hire a bakkie. The Meri Safa clinic is not far by car. However, it is difficult because there are no cars coming to my area.
“This is going to cause some people to default on their debts because it’s such a long walk,” Puka said.
She said the Ministry of Education had given them a new school, Gwenteshe Agricultural School, which opened this year, but she doubted whether it would function properly because there were no teachers willing to go to areas without roads.
Puka added that they have been raising this issue for a long time but no one has cared.
Another community member, Brenda Langeni, said they needed the municipality to do something about this because they were struggling.
“When a loved one dies, we have to carry them with our own hands. We have talked about this many times, but nothing is happening. We are appealing to the municipality to take it seriously and resolve the issue,” Langeni said.
Mbashe Municipality Communications Manager Babalwa Magkwanti confirmed that the municipality was aware of the protests that took place in the Casa area of Elliotdale last week.
She said Councilor Kungeka Makapela, portfolio director for infrastructure, attended the community on the day of the protest and briefed them on the municipality's plans for the road.
“The 10km Casa Road belongs to the Ministry of Transport. However, following the recent disaster, the municipality has carried out an assessment of the scope of works that need to be carried out.
“The project plan has been submitted to the Provincial Disaster Management Center (PDMC) for consideration to ensure that the portion of the tar road up to the 10km off-ramp is maintained or fixed in place. We are also in talks with the Ministry of Transport, and with them,” Magkwanty said.
Eastern Cape Department of Transport spokesperson Unasi Binkose said he had no knowledge of the protests but said if the roads were theirs and needed attention, that's what they would do. Told.
“For it to be an access road means it belongs to the municipality. Regardless of that, I accept that there are problems with the road, whether it is an access road or not.
“Even if it's something that belongs to a municipality or state, we have a plan in place to deal with it. So we've procured some graders that are used on rural roads. We have them We are in the process of obtaining a license for this,” Binkoce said.
He added that he wants operators to be trained to avoid damaging equipment when repairing roads.
Binkoce said once these processes are complete, they intend to distribute them across all states to ensure they support existing graders doing the work.
“We ask for the public's patience. At least more scorers have been procured to resolve the issues raised.”
