Ga-Masemola residents protest over bad roads

Ga-Masemola – Residents of various sections in Ga-Masemola Village have on Wednesday 26 June brought the area into a stand-still, disrupting the traffic after blockading the R579 Road with stones and burning tyres in a demonstration against poor roads.

The disgruntled residents Molebeledi, Magate and Mamatjekeng Sections in Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality (MLM) Ward 27, said they were tired of empty promised and demanded their internal roads be tarred. They demanded MLM Mayor Cllr Merah Mahlase to come and address their poor roads standard concerns that they say they have been raising with the local municipality for many years.

The Mayor of Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality, Cllr Merah Mahlase interacted with Molebeledi community after members embarked on an illegal protest on Wednesday morning, over their demand for internal road that is expected.

The protesting communities dispersed after interacting with Mayor Mahlase. The mayor informed residents that the municipality has since prioritised and completed designs for upgrading of the gravel road in question that affects Molebeledi, Mohwelere, Magate, Masemola Moshate to Mohloding/ Mamatjekele.

The Mayor said the project is listed on the adopted Municipality’s Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and the Service Delivery and Budget Implementation Plan (SDBIP) for 2024-2025 financial year and processes for appointment of service provider are at advanced stage.

Mahlase informed residents that once the appointment of the service provider has concluded, the municipality will convene meetings to introduce the contractor to community stakeholders including traditional leaders around affected villages.

The mayor appealed for patience from all affected communities, to allow due processes to be followed accordingly.

“The municipality offices are open to all our communities or their representatives to make follow-up on IDP projects. We are committed working together with all municipal stakeholders on any program of government”, said Mahlase.

However, a community leader, Bobo Makola, said they were not satisfied with the mayor’s response because she did not produce supporting documents to ensure that the roads are included in the IDP and SDBIP.

“Residents have been raising complaints for about fifteen years now and the municipality has kept on making promises. We want tangible commitment before we can believe that the roads we are complaining about will indeed be upgraded,” he said.