The fact that the Merafong City Local Municipality has failed to repair the bridge over a culvert near Wedela, forced residents to take matters into their own hands this week.

More than four months after a Khutsong resident died after the bakkie in which he was a passenger plunged into a culvert on the road between Wedela and the Wedela graveyard, the bridge over it has still not been fixed. Khutsong resident Anele Mnqayi died on July 11, after the bakkie he was travelling in with his cousin, Mpumemelo Gaba, plunged into an unmarked culvert on the recently tarred Wedela road near the town’s cemetery.

Although the Merafong City Local Municipality, which is responsible for fixing this road, partially closed the road again, they have still done nothing to repair the bridge over the culvert, except for blocking off the culvert and closing the makeshift bridge over it.

The bridge was washed away after heavy flooding in 2022.

Drivers, including those of emergency vehicles, are forced to drive past Mponeng or Kusasalethu mines if they want to get to Wedela from the side of Fochville or the N12.On Monday, November 10, a farmer from the area, Mogorosi Watlala, opened a makeshift bridge over the culvert with the help of some of his herders.

According to Watlala, he needs to use this bridge, even though he knows that it is dangerous.

“I stay in Wedela, but my animals graze on land I rent on the other side of the cemetery.

To get to them, I have to drive through Kusasalethu at least twice a day. This is a detour of more than 10 km each time, just because the municipality is not doing its work,” Watlala complains.

He noted that several fellow Wedela residents actually work in Potchefstroom, but cannot use the direct road because the municipality is just not fixing the bridge.

“They are also not communicating with us on when it will be done,” he says.

The makeshift bridge over the culvert is, however, not for use by the faint-hearted, as it only consists of pieces of corrugated iron.

At the time that Mnqayi had died in the accident, there were no warning signs in place to notify oncoming drivers who did not know the area that the road was supposed to be closed. There are now clear barricades, which have since been partially moved aside by residents. Although the Herald sent questions about the matter to the municipality’s marketing and communications manager, Temba Fezani, no answers were received by printing time.