By Thabo Monyela
BOLOBEDU SOUTH- The economically isolated and aggrieved villagers under Greater Tzaneen Municipality in ward 9, will have to wait until 2025 for the muddy and slippery Thako road to get fixed. I
The mountainous Thako Road which is approximately 3-4km is riddled with potholes and sinkholes and gives access to Malemela Primary and to the communal cemetery.
The plight of community members from six villages in Thako, Jokong, Khekhwinya, Kefolwe, Kerobeng and Masebutsa said they have been complaining about the bad condition of their access road for over 17 years, but had always been sidelines from the IDP capital projects.
In the 2022/23 IDP budget, the GTM council in its majority rejected the motion for the road to be prioritised and approved the budget to be implemented in the 2025/26 financial year.
During the heavy rainfalls, these six villages remain extremely economically and socially isolated because the service providers such as bakeries and transport cannot access the muddy and slippery road and the schooling schedule of the primary school located at Ga-Thako gets affected.
“During the rainfalls, the state of our road makes it difficult for our teaching staff to arrive in time and pupils from Jokong, Khekhwenya and Masebutsa are not coming to school,” Malemela SGB member said.
The community representative Eric Mohale told Tzaneen Voice that they have been engaging with several administrations of the Limpopo government, GTM and councillors about their dilapidated road but to no help.
“We have been sidelined by the government and we are fed up with their empty promises. We don’t want the re-gravelling but a permanent solution to the road and we have taken a decision that should the municipality fail to address our issues, no one in these six villages is going to vote” Mohale said.
Towards the 2021 Local Government Elections, these villagers vowed to desist from casting their votes until their road is permanently fixed, but they suddenly turned back on their vows and went on to vote.
The ward is currently led by an ANC councillor.
