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outpansberger
21 Januarie 2022
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RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL FARMS & PLOTS
Jaargang 38 Vol.03
Kompetisie vir streek se fotograwe - bladsy 6
ISSN 2409-2835
Audited Distribution Figures
03
9 772409 283001
Roadworks nightmare By Andries van Zyl
the municipality was seriously frustrating. She said they as business owners should have been consulted. “They could have called us together and we would have asked them to at least let the festive season pass. They could have chosen a quieter time,” said Maluleke. She also added that the start of the rainy season was the worst time to start a project like this and that they should have
waited until winter. “That is what we would have suggested. The project should also have been done in sections,” said Maluleke, explaining that they could have first closed of Main Street between Orient Road and 1st Avenue, and then between Orient Street and Commercial Street. This would have allowed at least one intersection on Main Street to be open all the time. “You cannot just dig up the whole road, so that there
is no way in or no way out. It must be done in a way that we can still function. At the end of the day, we want a better road, but if there is no business left, what is the point of a new road?” said Maluleke. Maluleke said her business had taken a huge knock with the municipality’s one-sided decision to close the road. (Contd on P2)
Frustration is mounting among residents of Eltivillas in Louis Trichardt about the snail’s pace at which the rehabilitation of a section of Main Street, the main traffic artery leading in and out of this busy suburb, is taking place. The section of Main Street between Commercial Street and 1st Avenue was ripped up in September last year and completely closed off for traffic. What immediately irritated residents, and especially business owners adjacent to the road, was that the municipality only sent them letters explaining their intentions weeks later. “What purpose did that serve, informing us that they were going to rip up the road after they had already done it!?” was the view expressed by all affected by the road closure. They added that the road closure could not have come at a worse time as many of them are still struggling to keep head above water because of the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions of the past months. “It is terrible! There was no notification. They circulated a letter in November that they wanted us to sign that we were notified. This was one of the busiest periods of the year to try and recover from the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Because of the road closure, I suffered tremendous losses, with a 65% drop in sales for December,” said Ms Masana Maluleke, owner of ChemiMed Pharmacy in Main Street. To make matters worse, Maluleke said, her sales were continuing to decline. Almost 90% of her clients are “walk-in” clients. “If people get there and see the road is closed, they make a U-turn and go somewhere else,” said Maluleke. She is also upset about the pace at which construction work is taking place. “They don’t work on weekends. They closed on 15 December and only reopened on 9 December. From a business perspective, honestly, they could have put back the road even if it was a gravel road,” said Maluleke. The section of Main Street between Commercial Street and 1st Avenue was ripped up in September last year and completely closed off for trafMaluleke added that, apart from the bad fic. What immediately irritated residents, and especially business owners adjacent to the road, was that the municipality had only sent them timing, the lack of communication on the part of letters explaining their intentions weeks later.
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