Relief as upgrading of deadly D959 begins

Date: 08 May 2021 By: Kaizer Nengovhela

The rocky and potholed D959 road leading from Madombidzha to Louis Trichardt has been the cause of numerous deaths the past few years. The road is, however, finally receiving some attention and the Limpopo Department of Public Works, Roads and Infrastructure allocated more than R61 million to fix this road and others in the district.

When making details available about the department’s budget, MEC Dickson Masemola said that, in total, R61, 5491 million was set aside for the upgrade of the D959 and D3715 roads in Sinthumule and Kutama, the D4 road from Elim to Malamulele, the D1483 road between Musina and Pontdrift and the D13671 road between Musekwa and Dolidoli. The D3727, D879 and D1356 roads from Mashamba, Tshitale to Morebeng are already 89% complete, while the D3688 road between Khubvi and Tshidzivhe is at 90% completion. The D3695 road between Siloam and Tshandama is 82% complete.

The newspaper spoke to Mr Tshililo Muedi, a local resident from the Madombidzha area, who said he was overjoyed when he saw the contractor starting work on the road. “We are tired of the horrific accidents on these roads. I believe that once the construction is complete, traffic will flow smoothly and we’ll see fewer accidents,” he said.

Taxi drivers who operate around Sinthumule and Kutama daily also applauded the re-construction work. Mr Benny Thagwana, a taxi driver, said they were very happy that something was being done about the road at last. “At least our miseries will soon be over. We really welcome this project with open arms because we have been waiting for many years. Besides the fact that our vehicles will last longer, it will make our lives easier as we will be able to move from one place to another easily,” Thagwana said.

The chairperson of the Zoutpansberg Community Development Forum (ZCDF), Mr Patrick Sikhutshi, welcomed the budget presented by the MEC. “We draw comfort from the fact that he mentioned that all projects underway are included in the budget to ensure not only their completion but quality as well. This means the D959- and R3715 roads are covered”. He said that the only concern was that the project was only at 26%, which was behind schedule. 

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Kaizer Nengovhela

Kaizer Nengovhela started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror in 2000. Prior to that he had a five year stint at Phala-Phala FM as sports presenter. In 2005 Kaizer received an award from the province's premier as Best Sports Presenter. The same year he was also nominated as Best Sports Reporter by the Makhado Municipality. Kaizer was awarded the Mathatha Tsedu award in 2014.

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