President Ramaphosa launches three new bridges in Mpumalanga
The bridges in Vezubuhle, Leratong and Zakheni were launched under the Welisizwe Rural Bridge Programme.
This week, the executive council, led by the premier, Mandla Ndlovu, met with President Cyril Ramaphosa during his two-day presidential visit to the province to hand over three bridges in Vezubuhle, Leratong and Zakheni as part of the Welisizwe Rural Bridge Programme.
This programme focuses on addressing the critical infrastructure needs of rural and disadvantaged communities by tackling the existing backlog.
Yesterday, December 11, Ramaphosa was joined by Ndlovu, the minister of public works and infrastructure, Dean McPherson, and the deputy minister, Sihle Zikalala, to officially unveil the completed bridges in KwaMhlanga in the Thembisile Hani Local Municipality.
Afterwards, they engaged with the community at the Solomon Mahlangu Stadium. Ramaphosa delivered a keynote address in which he highlighting the critical need for improved infrastructure and connectivity in rural communities.
“We are here as government to report that we have delivered on our promise to address the problem of old and dilapidated bridges in Mpumalanga. Communities have been struggling with this for some time. Poor transport infrastructure has been making it difficult to get to and from places of work, schools, the hospital and clinic, and to towns and cities from rural areas. In some cases, what would normally be a quick journey from one place to another takes double the time because there is no bridge,” Ramaphosa said.
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Ramaphosa revealed that the Department of Public Works has set a target of constructing 288 bridges by the end of the 2025/26 financial year, 17 of those being planned for Mpumalanga.
“An amount of R38b has been allocated for this purpose over the 2023/24 and 2025/26 financial years,” the president said.
