01 Mar 2017

Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Franz Van der Westhuizen has officially opened the Shashemooke Bridge on February 28.

The bridge, which was started in January 2014 was constructed to the tune of P74.8 million  and took only a year to be constructed.

When officiating during the ceremony, Mr Van der Westhuizen said the project needed to be completed as a matter of urgency because public safety continued to be at stake as many people got tempted to cross the river at unsafe points, especially during heavy downpours.

He said with the constructed bridge, greater investments opportunities would be unlocked in and around Francistown and Shashemooke as investors look at investments like this one as a key decision point to setup businesses, which will eventually grow the economy and create jobs.

The assistant minister further added that it was without doubt that the constructed bridge and road had changed the face of Shashemooke while facilitating economic activities, which the country desperately needed.

He said the project had eased the flow of road traffic and improved accessibility between the two localities thus making it easier for the citizens to now commute from Shashemooke to work in Francistown every day without relocating.

Mr Van der Westhuizen said the project was not only transforming the local economy and improving lives of the people of Francistown and Shashemooke but also prospects of the national economy by reducing travel times through the bridge and improving flow of trade as better infrastructure reduced time travels and improves communication.

He also commended Unik Construction and Group Consult for finishing the project on time, stating that with the country’s scarce resources, they needed contractors who were vigilant and applied proper management skills.

For his part, Kgosi Batshogile Adam of Shashemooke expressed gratitude for the bridge, stating that the village was in between rivers, thus before the bridge was constructed, they were faced with many challenges when they wanted to travel to Francistown.

Kgosi Adam noted that their lives had been improved as they were able to access services in Francistown with little challenges.

The area Member of Parliament (MP), who is also Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Culture Development, Mr Thapelo Olopeng requested  residents to take good care of the infrastructure stating that it was not government responsibility to look after them and implored them to use the road wisely and drive carefully. ENDS