According to Tiyiselani Khumbhuza, who represents the community in the five villages, government has been promising to tar the road since 2012. “In 2019, they tarred 3km of the 29,5km stretch from Gawula to Khakhala. The agreement was that the Road Agency Limpopo (RAL) was going to carry on with the remaining kilometers in the next financial year through to Hlomela village,” explained Khumbhuza.

“However, nothing happened in the following financial year. Last year they promised that the road would be done by April, but nothing happened. “Now they are talking about January next year. “We no longer believe it will happen since they do not fulfill their promises,” she said. To show their unhappiness with the situation, the community urged residents in the area to boycott voter registration last weekend.

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“The community’s stance is no road, no vote. We want to show the government that we’re not fools,” she said. She said that voting for another party is not an option as it would mean that they would have to start the process of applying for a tar road from scratch which might take years before they get their answer. “We don’t have the patience to wait that long,” she said.

According to her, the community plans to disrupt voting stations during the election next year if the situation is not addressed.