21 Mar 2019

Although the construction of Tshimoyapula road was a welcome development to the residents, it seems to have also brought misery. 

In an interview, the headman of arbitration for Tshimoyapula, Kgosi Lenkagetse Keipheditse said the construction of Mabeleapodi- Serule road, an ESP project, was one of the major developments meant to bring them joy, but said such was not the case as road construction had constantly threatened the villagers’ lives.

Kgosi Keipheditse highlighted that the truck drivers did not share the temporary road fairly with other road users, saying there had  been instances where drivers were endangered by the speeding trucks.

“If you are driving on that road and you see a truck approaching, you must make way for your own survival,” Kgosi noted.

He indicated that there was a bypass road that the contractor had built for the trucks to use without passing through the village, but still the truck drivers did not use it, deciding instead to pass through the village at high speed.  

Kgosi Keipheditse said such created a lot of dust, which affects people’s health and also endangered the lives of children, mostly. He said they had engaged the contractor about their concerns on several occasions, but nothing had changed.

In an interview with BOPA, one of the survivors of an accident caused by the construction vehicles, Ms Ogomoditse Engleton said she and her family nearly lost their lives. Ms Engleton said the accident happened on March 12 when the donkey cart she was using with her family members almost collided with a construction vehicle.

She said the vehicle was driving on the wrong lane and when her husband tried to swerve the donkey cart to the other side, the vehicle also went the same direction and hit them. She said she left with open wounds, while her five year-old son was left with a bump on the head.

Despite that, the driver allegedly did not stop, but returned to the camp without checking on the family’s wellbeing. She said they were found later by some residents who took them to the hospital and helped them report the case to the police.

The Director of Unik Construction, Mr Zhengzhong Liang said he was aware of the residents’ complaints and said they were trying their best to make the villagers comfortable and safe, but it was not easy as construction work also comes with its own challenges.

Mr Liang highlighted communication barrier between them and the locals as another major challenge.

With regards to the accident, he said they went to the scene immediately after the driver reported and when they got there, the police were already on the scene.

He said he offered one of his vehicles to take the family involved to the lands as his driver had inconvenienced them, but the family declined.

Mr Liang said they only realised the following day that the family members were injured, so they paid P500 for the donkey they killed as the family indicated and the matter was settled.

Regarding the issue of dust, he said they held induction meetings weekly with truck drivers to use the road well and for them to cooperate with other road users.

He said they had also instructed their truck drivers to stop using the road that passed through the village and the drivers had since complied, adding that the trucks that went to the village were those whose drivers stayed there.

He said lack of water was another major challenge for them as they only had five boreholes, so they could not constantly wet the temporary road to suppress the dust, but he said they were working on drilling more boreholes to address the issue.

“We will clear more space in our camp so that all trucks, including those of sub-contractors, will come and park here, so that no truck goes to the village and cause problems with the locals,” he concluded. Ends