Protest over R25 road’s nightmarish state
PHOOKO – The dilapidated state of portions of the R25 road in Phooko Village, Moutse outside Groblersdal resulted in frustrated and angry community members barricading the road with burning tires, adversely distracting traffic on Monday, 20 February 2023 morning.
The angry residents indicated that they have made several requests and reported to the authorities to attend to the bad state of the road without success.
They blamed the Road Agency Limpopo (RAL) for not taking their pleas as urgent and decided to block the road with burning tires, rubble, stones and tree trunks and branches to register their concerns over the nightmarish state of the R25 road.
The R25 connects Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Gauteng provinces to the OR Tambo International Airport as one of the many destinations and it is mostly used by trucks from the neighbouring citrus farms near Marble Hall and Groblersdal towns. Some trucks from the mines within Sekhukhune district also use the road more often.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) members managed to disperse the protesting crowd that morning.
Seun Mogotji, Bolsheviks Party of South Africa leader, said however, the status of the R25 road for the past 10 or so years has been an eyesore.
Mogotji indicated that the portion of the road which suffered neglect by the authorities was that between Dennilton in Moutse and Verena.
“Both Mpumalanga and Gauteng provinces have done their part in maintaining their portions of the road. However, the RAL has failed to do their part with regard to maintenance of the road,” said Mogotji.
He added that it was under that background that they were calling for the intervention of Limpopo Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure (LDPWRI) MEC, Nkakareng Rakgoale on the matter that has been a nightmare for residents in the area for many years without receiving the needed attention.
According to the LDPWRI, its team was chased away when it was there to repair the road and portions of the road after Phooko Village is under the jurisdiction of Mpumalanga province.
The department further indicated that its call centre teams were overwhelmed due to the recent floods that the minister declared as a disaster.
It recommitted that it would always be eager to assist communities at all costs and at all times when the need arose.
RAL would not be drawn into comment on the matter and stated that it was still investigating if the portion of the road fell under its responsibility or that of the Mpumalanga province.
