Sabie residents ask for intervention

“Roads and bridges are like the arteries of our transport network, without which the economy cannot function.” So said the premier, Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, in her recent State of the Province Address (Sopa).

Some Sabie community members said they need intervention from Thaba Chweu Local Municipality (TCLM) before the town falls apart. They say the roads are damaged and town maintenance is hardly done. Elsie van Douwe, a Sabie DA councillor, said, “The main road to the waterfalls has turned into a dirt road – most of the tar is now gone.

“This means tourists are almost unable to get to the waterfalls or any of the other nature attraction areas there – everything is in ruins. These tourists are a major source of income for Sabie and they are not even considered important.

“We are now really getting to a stage where the Mount Anderson Street community is getting fed up with TCLM. The community is now on the verge of taking steps against the municipality for its lack of maintenance and service delivery.”

According to Van Douwe, the residents are in fact loyal to the town of Sabie and diligently pay their rates and taxes. “They are tired of driving on roads that are full of deep potholes everywhere. They are now considering not paying their rates like so many others do, and then waiting to see how TCLM pays their salaries and support their corrupt habits,” she said. “Our town and cemetery is in ruins. TCLM only cleans a portion of the cemetery and only when there is a funeral.”

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During Sopa the premier said the province conducted a preliminary assessment after the floods which suggested just over R1,3 billion was needed to attend to all infrastructure damages.

“For us to restore and rebuild our infrastructure, create much-needed jobs for our people and set this economy on a growth path, we are committing ourselves to build and reconstruct within the next 12 to 24 months.

All major provincial roads, bridges and buildings that were affected by the recent floods; municipalities rebuilding their road networks and bridges destroyed during the floods; assisting the most vulnerable members of our society whose homes were destroyed by the floods,” said Mtshweni-Tsipane.

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Lowvelder contacted the municipality; Themba Sibiya, spokesperson for TCLM, acknowledged receiving these queries. At the time of going to press, though, the municipality had not responded.