Residents of the Kasa area near Elliotdale in the Eastern Cape staged a protest on Wednesday, February 21, calling for the construction of a tarred road in the area. The area's gravel roads, which were built in 1991, are rapidly deteriorating.
In its comprehensive development plan, Mbashe Municipality said roads in the area are dangerous and are often the scene of horrific accidents.
A Kasa resident said: daily maverick They felt abandoned by the government. They said it was terrible that children could not go to school because of bad roads.
Funani Mangaza (67) said, “The roads are in bad condition and the bridges are collapsing.It's tough.'' Anything can happen on that bridge now. It's not safe at all.
“You can't even go to the clinic when it's raining. There are no ambulances here and unfortunately all these bad things are happening under our black leadership, they… They don't care about us, the rural dwellers.
“There are no cars on this road, only bakkies can pass through it, so as elderly people we walk long distances to get to the clinic, but when it rains, even bakkies can't drive on that road.”
Another resident, Noshiseko Puka, 43, said residents were pleading with the mayor to intervene.
“We are protesting today to petition the Mayor of Mbashe City, Mr. [Samkelo] Janda will build us roads. We have been complaining about this road. The last time this road was built was in 1991. It is difficult for our leaders to serve us. It’s been 30 years and I’m still waiting for the road to open,” she said.
“All we want is tar roads and nothing else.”
Nosinjir Diwabasini, 65, was one of the residents who met with Janda earlier this year and requested that the tar road be built.
“We explained to him the pain we were going through. When we hold a funeral on a rainy day, we have to carry the coffin of the deceased over 15 kilometers. Because I can’t pass,” she said.
“We gave the mayor seven days and he still hasn’t responded. Our children can’t even go to school when it rains. We are not in a fight with the mayor. No. Instead, we are begging him to give us a tarred road.”
One of the protest leaders, Munedi Bungu, said the gravel road connects more than 15 villages and warned that the protests would continue until the mayor responded.
“We want them to build tar roads and we will continue our protests until they answer our pleas. Sick people cannot go to the hospital. Children miss school because they forget to take their medicine. Some people can't go to school,” Bung said.
Community leader Linda Jingwei said, “When someone gets sick in our community, we pray to the Lord to pick them up because we know that an ambulance cannot come.” he said.
Mbashe City did not respond to requests for comment.
Kasa residents demand the construction of a tarred road during a protest in Elliotdale, Eastern Cape, February 21, 2024. (Photo: Hoseya Jubase)
Tires burn during a road protest in Elliotdale, Eastern Cape, February 21, 2024 (Photo: Hoseya Jubase)
A gravel road complained of by Casa residents in Elliotdale, Eastern Cape, February 21, 2024 (Photo: Hoseya Jubase)
One of the bridges complained of by Casa residents in Elliotdale, Eastern Cape, 21 February 2024 (Photo: Hoseya Jubase)
Premier addresses the issue
In his State of the State address (Sopa) on Thursday, Prime Minister Oscar Mabuyane acknowledged that rural roads “enable access to schools, health facilities and economic centers in communities”.
“Most of our roads are gravel. Climate change with flooding washes away the work that was being done on gravel roads. Some of the yellow plants [vehicles] What we have committed to purchasing has arrived and will be deployed to municipalities close to our communities.
Read more at Daily Maverick: Graders dispatched to rescue critical Mazeppa Bay road collapse in Eastern Cape
“[The provincial] Government will buy more plants [vehicles] “We need to increase our gravel road maintenance capacity in the coming years,” he said.
“The main concern for the current government is rural bridges being washed away by floods. They pose a danger to human life. We plan to build 36 bridges under the Weli Sizwe Bridges Programme.
“Construction of the first 19 rural bailey bridges has begun in the Alfred Nzo, Tambo, Oregon and Amahole districts and is expected to be completed within the next six months. This will be followed by the Joe Gabi and Chris Hani districts. Another 17 bridges are planned to be built in 2020.
The SA Human Rights Commission is conducting an investigation into the state of the state's roads. DM
