Residents of Sendedza village in Siloam, Venda, in Limpopo, had hoped that the Makhado Local Municipality’s plan to assemble a bridge for them would make their lives simpler, however the low-lying construction has since turn out to be virtually as massive a hazard as not having a bridge in any respect.
Tender paperwork present that the R3 million tender to assemble the bridge and grade 37km of roads within the space was awarded to PHEM Consulting and Project Managers in 2021. Work on the bridge was accomplished in March.
However, upon visiting the realm this previous week, The Citizen was met with a group of dissatisfied villagers, who say that the bridge had began to crack simply a few days after it was handed over.
‘This thing will kill us’
“We will die this time, we almost died in February when it rained heavily, this stream overflowed and flooded our homes. You see all these rocks and debris? They flowed here with the heavy rains, now they are going to block these small concrete pipes and make the stream overflow,” complained resident Phungo Matodzi.
He is worried that the bridge might collapse below the burden of autos passing over it.
“This thing is not stable and won’t last. Bakkies collecting water can’t drive over because it’s already problematic.”
Her neighbour Mavis Makungane stated when she heard they have been getting a bridge, she didn’t anticipate a low-lying construction full of cement and rocks, however a raised bridge which is secure for pedestrians and autos.
“I anticipated reduction to defend us from the upcoming wet season. This stream was overflowing, taking our fences and rooster coops from our yards with it.
“We were better off without this weak bridge. It’s going to cause problems.”
“Temporary work is expensive because it needs fixing in the long run. They could have raised the structure, we can’t drive over this thing,” he stated as he made a U-turn in his supply van.
Chairperson of the native conventional council Wilson Ramese stated he anticipated a lot better work after the heavy rains.
According to DA councillor Aaron Madavha, the concrete slab of the bridge is lower than 5cm thick, with a large quantity of free soil beneath.
“There have been additionally heaps of soil that have been left in the course of the river after the development. Residents of Sendedza village are afraid to make use of the flimsy construction and worry it is likely to be unsafe. Residents additionally worry it is likely to be swept away when it rains.
“We believe these are as a result of poor workmanship by the contractors appointed to carry out the bridge’s construction.”
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Contractor says price range was not sufficient
Responding to The Citizen questions, PHEM Consulting head Livhuwani Netshimbupfe stated the R3 million budgeted for the venture was not meant for Sendedza solely, and that she additionally needed to re-gravel streets within the space utilizing the identical price range.
“We put the concrete and cement and slab on prime. There was no concrete within the specs, we determined to do this to reinforce the bridge.
“We did five other bridges that side, and they have no slabs. The measurement for the structure was 600cm, but we made it 900cm, because we saw that the bridge needed to be higher. I spent a lot for that bridge,” she stated.
She alleged that somebody intentionally drove over the bridge with a heavy motorized vehicle and broken it. The municipality requested her to go repair the cracks.
She claims the venture has left her penniless and unable to pay her employees.
“I followed the specifications and even went beyond the budget. I even told the project manager I was tired because there really was no profit. The re-gravel was actually 43km, and not 36km, we did the calculations. I owe the owner of the grader R85,000. I even owe some of the workers too.”
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‘Water will always be there’
According to Makhado’s technical director George Ralishuku, the PHEM work was not budgeted for, however was a part of the catastrophe administration initiatives following the heavy rains earlier this yr.
He accused the residents of “playing politics”, relating to the bridge’s flaws.
“Sitting in the office now, I cannot confirm whether the structure is safe or not. That community is playing politics in the project. That is a service delivery project,” he stated.
He additionally denied that the construction is a bridge in any respect, saying it’s truly a culvert.
“We were doing culverts under disaster management in those areas identified during the rainy seasons. A culvert is built for low level water to pass, you can’t pass there when it is covered with water.”
When requested whether or not the group will ever get a correct bridge that might channel heavy rains and allow them to drive over, Ralishuku stated residents should comply with municipal processes in the event that they wanted a bridge.
“They should comply with the IDP course of – which means they method their councillor to request a bridge. We because the municipality will put the precedence record collectively, and appoint an engineer who will go design a bridge for that space.
“You do not come out when the project is completed and complain about water. Water will always be there. We are not saying we were stopping the water. I’ll go there this week and check on the stability issues they are raising,” he stated.
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