Morgenzon farmers take road maintenance into their own hands
The farmers of Morgenzon have decided to take the maintenance of the town's gravel roads into their own hands by donating their time and equipment.
Farmers living near Morgenzon came together on September 22 to maintain the town’s gravel roads and clean the residential areas.
According to Flip du Preez, the high volume of trucks and lack of maintenance by the Lekwa Municipality have caused the roads in Morgenzon to deteriorate.
“The road was not designed for the use of heavy transport trucks,” said Du Preez.
Because several trucks pass through the town at high speeds, the stormwater drains have been damaged. The lack of working stormwater drains causes roads to flood during the rainy season, resulting in significant damage.
Farmers used their own trucks, TLBs and tractors to dig gravel from the quarry and transport it to the damaged sections of the road. They then used the gravel to fill potholes and level the road.
The AfriForum Standerton branch assisted with the project by cutting trees and cleaning the areas around the road.
Du Preez said that this problem has a clear solution. “We need to build a truck stop outside town to prevent trucks from parking on and overusing the road,” he said.
According to Du Preez, because of the poor state of the roads, many locals have left Morgenzon or prefer living on farms outside the town.
