MAFARAFARA/TAUNG
It’s been 30 years residents of Mafarafara and Taung had been pleading with the Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality to erect an access bridge to cross the Steelpoort River (Tubatse).
In March 2023, Sekhukhune Times visited the two villages to witness their challenges, during the time, they relied on a sewaiwai, a makeshift steel or wooden cart, to cross the overflowing river.
More than three years later this publication realized there is still no changes as the communities still suffer without an access bridge.
Frustrated by the lack of action from the FTLM, these desperate residents have now constructed their own bridge in order to cross an access facilities such as clinics and schools.
The villagers have constructed a makeshift wooden bridge; it is balanced with poles and covered with corrugated iron sheets. The bridge owners charge R10 for a single crossing trip.
This bridge was built out of necessity to access schools and clinics, these crossings remain precarious and might wash away during summer floods, highlighting a desperate need for permanent infrastructure.
Speaking to this publication, residents said they have written to the FTLM on countless occasions begging the municipality to build ‘even just a single lane bridge’ but their attempts always fell on deaf ears.
“People of Taung and Mafarafara are suffering and our municipality is failing us, it’s been years we had been asking them to assist with a bridge, it seems they just don’t care about us,” complained the residents.
The locals said it’s risky to cross the river with the Sewaiwai or the corrugated bridge, “It’s costly to take a taxi from Mafarafara to Taung, we end up risking our lives in the flooded river, we are now pleading with the provincial government to intervene.”
The residents feared their wooden bridge will collapse when heavy rains cause the river to rise. They said in the past years people drowned while trying to swim in order to pass the flooded river.
According to the residents, the FTLM is aware of their challenges, they allege the municipal officials came on several occasions to take pictures and after vanished.
“Their last visit was around February 2024, before the elections for the National Assembly, we think the visit was just a ruse to make sure we do go to the polls and vote.
“The reality is that, they just do not care about us,” said one Taung resident.
The lack of an access bridge meant sick elderly people are forced to cross this flooded river on daily basis and sometimes at night to access the clinic from Mafarafara to Taung.
“We have no clinic at Mafarafara and the closest healthcare facility is Taung Clinic, but we have to risk our lives by crossing the flooded river to get there. Our alternative clinic is the one at Kgautšwana, but it is a bit far from our village,” said a resident.
The Sekhukhune Times forwarded queries to the FTLM’s communications team to find out if there are plans to erect an access bridge at Mafarafara. As it’s a norm, the FTLM was yet to respond at the time of going to print, updates will be provided when they decide to respond.