LIMPOPO – Communities along the Tshiulungoma-to-Gumbani route have secured progress in their 18-year campaign for a better road, following the appointment of a contractor to upgrade the first 5km of the D3717.

The announcement was made during a media briefing at the Mphaphuli Tribal Council last Friday, where Roads Agency Limpopo (RAL) outlined plans to upgrade the section from the R524 intersection near Hollywood towards Gumbani.

According to RAL project fact sheet RAL/T1292/2026, read by Mavis Mashashane, KTN Consulting Engineers has been appointed to supervise the project, while HTE Construction will undertake the construction work.

Road upgrade to begin in phases

The 11.4km road will be upgraded in phases because of budget constraints. The first phase covers 5km, which will be converted from gravel to a tarred surface.

The project is expected to take 14 months and Mashashane said construction would begin once social and stakeholder engagement processes had been completed and all necessary permits and authorisations obtained.

An 18-year fight for change

For residents, however, securing the first 5km represents the outcome of years of campaigning and engagement with government.

Tshiulungoma community leader and civic association chairperson Reckson Nemadzhivhanani said the struggle began in 2008, when villages between Tshiulungoma and Gumbani formed a task team to mobilise residents and push for the road’s upgrading.

He said communities staged protests in 2018 and 2025, initially without the required authorisation. Police advised them to follow the legal process, after which they applied for permission to protest. Residents also approached several MECs and submitted memorandums, but were dissatisfied with the responses.

They eventually escalated their demands to the Premier’s Office. “It was not easy,” Nemadzhivhanani said, adding that residents were relieved when they learned that 5km, from Hollywood to the Dididi junction via Tshiulungoma, had been allocated for upgrading. The project also provides for local economic participation, including a 10% target of the tender sum for local empowerment and 30% for subcontractors and suppliers.

Expected benefits include reduced vehicle operating costs, improved road safety, all-weather access, better mobility and local employment opportunities.

Thulamela Mayor Athongozwidivha Rambuda welcomed the contractor’s appointment, saying the project would improve residents’ quality of life and transport access.