Leaving many people to speculate that the price of the R5m bridge was inflated. The gravel bridge allows access between the two villages of Humulani and Majeje. Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality (BPM) posted pictures of the opening ceremony on the official Facebook page of the municipality. Community members commented with disbelief on the post, saying the price of the bridge was inflated, and by December, it would be washed away.

The DA in the province stated that Mayor Merriam Malatj prematurely handed over the bridge without conducting a high-risk assessment. The party said the bridge is too low to allow for water to flow without obstruction during the rainy season and will result in flooding. “The bridge is also not tarred to protect the structure, and safety barriers are not high or strong enough to prevent vehicles from plunging into the river. “This bridge is a disaster waiting to happen,” said Bilias Ramothwalo, DA councillor.

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Ramothwala stated that the premature handover by the mayor was to appease the community before the upcoming elections.“We believe that the project cost was inflated to show a 100% spending of the Municipal Infrastructure Grant by the municipality for the 2023/24 financial year.” The DA said it would submit detailed questions on this project, including costs, scope, the capability of both the contractor and the technical manager to oversee projects, and the reasons why the mayor handed over the project contrary to the council’s recommendations.

BPM spokesperson, Jonas Mahesu, told the Herald that there is nothing wrong with the bridge and that BPM’s technical team gave the go-ahead for the mayor to open it to the public. He said the cost of the bridge was calculated by consulting engineers and not BPM.