South Africa: Protest Over Unsafe Dirt Roads in Rural Kwazulu-Natal

Nquthu and Mzinyathi Municipalities promise to fix roads next week

Residents of five villages in Nquthu, Northern KwaZulu-Natal, blocked a main road on Wednesday, demanding the urgent repair of the dirt roads leading from the villages to town.

Large rocks, burning tires and other scrap materials were used to block the road, preventing people from getting to school or work.

Protest leader "2x2" Moloi told GroundUp that the access roads are unsafe. "The road surface has loose friction. It is muddy and slippery. We demand they add gravel rocks," he said.

Taxi driver Sbhamu Ngobese showed us two bridges over rivers where taxis are unable to cross when it rains. He said they often have to drop off passengers before the bridge. "It's painful to see elders, especially women walking about four kilometers carrying groceries to get home," he said.

He says the bridge will collapse if it is not fixed. Every weekend, he organises a group of young men to fill the holes in the road with rocks and dirt.

The municipality's graders are not properly levelling the road and have caused all the gravel to wash away, making the road slippery, he says.

Villagers also want a drainage system to be put in place so that the roads don't flood.

Resident Khonzeleni Gumbi said the bad roads mean that emergency services cannot reach the villages. Her neighbours' home recently burned to ashes after being hit by lightning. Fire services lost friction on the road and crashed a kilometer before reaching the house, Gumbi said.

Nquthu Municipality speaker Njabulo Buthelezi accompanied by officers from Mzinyathi District's Department of Transport addressed the protestors. They explained that a lot of damage was caused by heavy rain in April.

They promised that construction vehicles will be sent on Thursday and that on Monday, a request for gravel rocks will be lodged. Protestors can expect an update by Tuesday, they said.

The protestors said that if the promises are not met, they will protest again.

Read the original article on GroundUp.