MATHAPISANA
Residents of Mathapisa, Soetveld, Ga-Mampane Thabeng and Kgarethuthu Villages in Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality (MLM) Ward 26, are up in arms over an abandoned multi-million rand road project that was meant to improve their lives.
The Soetveld/Mathapisa to Ga-Mampane Thabeng Road project, which began in 2024 March last year, was expected to be completed by February 2025.
However, the project experienced serious delays and has been stalled since October 2025, with workers alleging theft at the construction site and that the contractor misused funds, leading to its abandonment.
The abandoned project has left residents without access to a proper road, causing problems, especially during rainy days.
According to residents, the project was plagued by corruption and nepotism, with supervisors and the Community Liaison Officer (CLO), allegedly cutting the number of workers to 30, citing minimal work.
“There is serious nepotism taking place within the project. We were working two weeks in, two weeks out rotationally, but the supervisors and CLO cut us off, saying the work was limited,” said a worried employee who did not want to be named.
She alleged that the main reasons contributed to the abandonment of the project was because of theft of construction materials committed by workers and the misuse of project funds by the main contractor.
“The project money has been misused. The contractor would sometimes not have materials, and workers would wait for up to two months without doing proper work. The municipality is quite about the situation,” she said.
Residents are now calling for an investigation into the matter, saying they have been left with an inaccessible road, which has caused problems, especially during rainy days.
“The delay of the project escalate the risk we are facing as residents. There is a school located along the road, Ranong Primary at Thabeng Village, which is over flooded during the rain posing a drowning risk to our children. Kgarethuthu Primary is also on the road, which is over flooding during the rain and also posing the same risk,” she said.
The community accused MLM Mayor, Merah Mahlase, of failing to address their concerns, with some alleging that they were threatened with eviction from the site when they protested.
“The Mayor will come on site and tell us to vacate the site if we do not want to work,” a resident said.
The Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality has yet to comment on the matter.