D4239 Road falls apart, Ngwaabe communities cut off by broken promises

GA-MAEPA – The D4239 Provincial Road, meant to link Ga-Maepa, Mphana, Ga-Maphopha and Ratau Villages in the Ngwaabe area, Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality (FTLM) Ward 29, has deteriorated into what residents call ‘a stretch of craters with tar in between’.

The road was upgraded from gravel to tar just a few years ago. Today, dongas and potholes line almost every kilometer, making travel dangerous and often impossible after rain.

According to residents, ambulances refuse night trips, taxis sometimes charge double, and farmers say produce rots before it reaches markets in Burgersfort.

“It was shoddy work from day one. They used cheap material, the quality is bad. The road is bad and inaccessible for communities. A sick child cannot get to clinic on time. A scholar transport cannot reach our children. We were promised development, we got dust and damage,” said a community leader Evans Mabowa.

Mabowa added that every time it rains, the tar lifts like old paint. “The contractor is gone, but our problems remain. If this is what they call upgraded infrastructure, then Ward 29 deserves better than leftovers,” he said.

An elderly pensioner, Mmapula Ledwaba, from Mphana Village, said she now walks to Ratau just to catch a reliable taxi.

“My legs are tired, but what can I do? The taxi drivers say their suspensions break every week on this road. So they avoid us,” she said.

Kabelo Maphopha from Ga-Maphopha, told the paper he misses class when it rains. “The scholar transport gets stuck in the dongas. Then we must wait for a tractor to pull it out. We lose days of learning because of a road,” he said.

Small business owners said deliveries to their businesses in Ratau Village have dropped by half. “Suppliers refuse to come in. They say fix your road first. How do we fix it? It’s not our road,” said a local businessman.

Mabowa also raised disappointment over the unfinished access bridge at Maseven Village. Construction started months ago but is very slow, leaving residents to cross a swollen stream using logs and tyres.

“The government is taking time to complete the project and we have doubts that it will ever be completed. Children cross that water to get to school. One day someone will drown while we wait for years for the project to be completed. We need action, not excuses,” he said.

Ward 29 residents are now calling on Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality and Limpopo Roads Agency to urgently re-assess the D4239 and complete the Maseven bridge before the next rainy season.

Attempts to get comment from Roads Agency Limpopo at time of publication were unsuccessful.