Protestors have blockaded the road from Hazyview to the Paul Kruger Gate for the fourth day running, following calls by the local community to have a tarred road.

Some residents of Belfast Village took to the road early on Tuesday morning (October 5) to create sandbanks along the route, preventing vehicles from passing through.

A provincial police spokesperson, Col Donald Mdhluli, said the police are monitoring the situation, however, once a section of the road is cleared, the protestors come back and dump sand on the road again.

The road being blocked, according to the police, is the R536.

The spokesperson for the provincial Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport, Bongani Dhlamini, said the community members were demanding that the D4382 be tarred. He said it is a provincial road.

“It is just under 13 kilometres long and is a major economic route (including tourism, local commuters and commercial vehicles) in the Bushbuckridge Local Municipality in particular,” said Dhlamini.

ALSO READ: Stage 2 continues, with possible loadshedding into the weekend

“The department has earmarked the road for upgrading from gravel to a surfaced road for a number of years, but could not proceed because of limited funding.”

He said the road has been maintained through periodic selective re-gravelling and annual routine maintenance, such as grading, vegetation clearance and drain cleaning.

“The road has been designed for upgrading to a surfaced road. Procurement for construction has been planned for the current financial year of which advertising of the tender will be this month,” he said.

It is unclear when this matter will be resolved. Lowvelder will keep its readers apprised.