By Staff Reporter
Two years ago, the country experienced unusually heavy and protracted summer downpours that lasted about five months.
That pounding torrents caused massive damage to some infrastructure such as houses and bridges in rural settings.
The bridge on Koro-Koro river in the Maseru district was among the structures that were not spared.
With the river overflowing its banks, the bridge first became impassable by both pedestrians and vehicles after it was damaged.
The bridge, which was built decades ago as part of the road linking Ha ‘Mantsebo and Roma en-route Maseru road, is situated between Ha Mapeshoane and Ha Phohleli villages.
The damage has all but cut off service delivery for the local communities and this is proving to be impacting daily human activities negatively.
This is despite repeated promises by government to local dwellers that the facility would be repaired. But to date, nothing has come to fruition as the communities continue to bear the brunt of the collapsed bridge as it makes travelling for various reasons difficult.
An irritated area chief of Mokema Teketsi Maama -under the principal chief of Maama – confirmed the developments, saying the bridge was damaged the by heavy rains in 2021.
His people in the nine villages under his jurisdiction used the bridge to venture across to Ha ‘Mantṧebo, Ha Mofoka and other further areas to access services.
“The bridge made it possible for villagers to seek health services at the Ha Mofoka clinic, and to receive old-age pension pay-outs.
“With the bridge now damaged, they have to hire taxis to ferry them to Ha Mofoka using the much longer Roma-Masianokeng route. This is a lot costly,” he told theReporter in an interview.
The affected pensioners are mostly from the villages of Mokema, Ha Molapo, Ha Lebakae, Ha Rampoetsi, Ha Lekete and Ha Lile.
“Sometimes they travel to that pay point only to return home without any having received their monies and this leaves them indebted to public transport owners or privately hired vehicles,” Maama lamented.
The old-age pensioners receive monthly grants of M850 each.
“At some point, people in villages under the jurisdiction of the principal chief of Matsieng could not travel to Mokema for medical attention at St Joseph’s health centre because of the damaged bridge.
“Again, learners from this side could not use public transport to get to St Joseph Primary School when the river was flooded,” Maama added.
He urged government to act swiftly to repair the bridge so that learners from either side of the river can be able to go to school, which is impossible during heavy rains.
Outgoing local councillor of the nine-member Mohlakeng Community Council, Mpole Ralitjeleng could not conceal his frustration at the government’s unfulfilled promise to maintain the bridge by end of July this year as promised.
Ralitjeleng confirmed travelling from either side of the river is difficult for villagers due to the damaged bridge. He said there is only a makeshift bridge constructed by community members and vehicle owners who use it regularly.
“This temporary structure cannot be trusted as it will surely be washed away by the river in the event of heavy rains in the coming months. We were promised that a new bridge would be completed in July this year. But no works have begun since,” he said.
According to Ralitjeleng, the government only invited two unidentified South African contractors to conduct a survey in preparation for the construction of a new bridge.
“Their inspection was intended by the roads department to survey the area and determine the size, height and quality of a future structure to remedy the present precarious situation. We do not know how things are going. The matter is still in the hands of the department,” he indicated.
He indicated that the council was originally set to sit to discuss the matter before the local government elections which were held on September 29 this year, but this never came to pass.
Reacting to these complaints, Roads Directorate public relations manager Nozesolo Matela placated communities by disclosing that consulting services for site investigation, design, documentation and construction supervision support had commenced.
Matela revealed that consultancy services were awarded to Pemahn ABK JV in February this year.
“Geotechnical investigation was completed in April 2023. Geotechnical, bridge and hydraulic designs are now on-going.
“According to plans, the completion date Is December this year for this construction whose contract amount is M5,449,206.
“Roads Directorate will request funding for construction of the bridge following design completion. Plans are also afoot for the directorate to repair and construct roads and bridges in different districts in the country,” she concluded.
