On Tuesday, March 14, the Limpopo MEC for Public Works, Roads, and Infrastructure, Nkakareng Rakgoale handed the project over to the appointed contractor. “The 10-kilometre stretch of road will enable a smooth flow of traffic which connects several villages in the Greater Tzaneen Municipality. We believe that the new road will make the community of Mandlhakazi happy,” she said during the handover ceremony.

She urged the community not to damage the road when they have grievances. “Once the road is burned, it becomes a pothole, and with heavy rainfall, it becomes bigger.” She warned that should the road be deliberately damaged; the department would not do any repairs until other projects were finished. Rakgoale reiterated the pivotal role roads play in connecting villages in the province to improve the livelihoods of communities.

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“The department strives to live up to the mandate of RAL, which prioritises connecting the people of the province through quality infrastructure development. Road D3248 plays a critical role as it provides access to N’wamitwa village from road D3175 and the Thapane intersection,” added Rakgoale. Hosi Nwamitwa said that the community is delighted that the road is going to be upgraded to tar. “It has been many years in the making. The fact that the MEC took her time to come to look at the road herself, gives us hope for the project.”

A spokesperson for the department, Witness Tiva said that at the moment they cannot specifically say when construction will start. “We are still dealing with establishing the site, steering committee, and necessary permissions for the construction to start, and once we have all of that, we will be able to run the project smoothly,” he said.