Community protests over alleged corrupt road project in Makhuduthamaga

GA-MASEMOLA

A 5kms road project at Molebaledi Village in Ga-Masemola area, Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality (MLM) Ward 27, has been marred by controversy, with community leaders alleging corruption and mismanagement.

The project, which aims to upgrade the road from Molebedi to Mohloding, has a budget of R57 million. However, the community is up in arms over the decision to scale down the project to 2.5kms, citing a lack of transparency and accountability.

The project, which started in November last year, was supposed to be completed by October but is far behind schedule.

On Wednesday 10 September 2025, the community staged a protest, barricading the R579 Road with stones and burning tires. They were demanding immediate answers from MLM Mayor Cllr Merah Mahlase.

However, after meeting with Mahlase, they temporarily suspended the protest pending further discussions.

“We have a project with many corruption issues. They appointed an unqualified Community Liaison Officer (CLO) who does not even have a matric certificate,” said a concerned resident who did not want to be named.

“The CLO is not updating the community with anything, she was just placed in the position for corrupt purposes,” he said.

The community has also raised concerns about the underpayment of workers, with some alleging that municipality officials are using their own tipper trucks and water tanker trucks for the project.

The resident emphasized that the community demands the upgrade of the full 5kms road as initially agreed upon and calls for transparency in the project.

“We want the mayor to listen to us and remove the CLO from her position. If our demands are not met, we will suspend the project until they comply,” he stated.

The concerned community member said the residents demand the construction of the full 5km road as initially planned and transparency in project management and finances.

“It is simple, the community also demand the removal of the current CLO because she is not qualified and failing to update residents about progress within the project. We also seek a fair compensation and timely payment to construction workers and accountability from municipality officials regarding project management and resources,” he said.

At the time of going to press, Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality could not respond to Sekhukhune Times enquiries.