2 22 OCTOBER 2021
MEC promises another R30 million to try and finish incomplete roads By Kaizer Nengovhela
Residents in the Sinthumule and Kutama area are complaining about the shoddy construction work and lack of progress that is being made on the rehabilitation of the D959 Road from Louis Trichardt to Makhado Air Force Base. The six-month project was started in February this year and, less than three months in, construction has been left abandoned, incomplete and already strewn with new potholes in the base layer. Residents were dismayed when, soon after the project started, the road had been opened even though anyone could clearly see that the construction work was incomplete. This poor effort has left local communities up in arms and they are now pointing furious fingers at the Limpopo MEC for Public Works, Dickson Masemola, accusing him of being “nothing but a charmer who just wanted to capture the confidence of the people”. Masemola set aside R11.5 million to fix the D959 and D3715 Roads. This job was never finished, leaving residents with the same dangerous roads and many unanswered questions, such as who is now to blame for the
poor condition of the newly “upgraded” road? The rehabilitation project on the D3715 Road from Madabani to Tshikhodo has also been dormant for more than three months now. After a local community structure went to see the MEC at his office in Polokwane to lay an official complaint about the shoddy rehabilitation done on the D959, and the lack of any work being done on the D3715, Masemola paid a visit to the area on Thursday, 14 October. He met with residents, local structures (including traditional leaders), taxi associations and business forums at the Muduluni Community Hall. Masemola said that the budget to complete the work was set at R30 million rand and would be done in two phases. He said that planning would begin in order to have the patching up and rehabilitation work done within the current financial year, and that the rehabilitation process would start as soon as this week, from 18 to 22 October. He said that the communities must work hand in hand with the contractor, so that progress on the development could be seen by all. Masemola said he noticed that no community structure had been involved in the reha-
Limpopo MEC for Public Works Dickson Masemola. Photo: Kaizer Nengovhela.
bilitation of the D959 Road. He added that he would meet with the engineer working on the D959 Road to give him (Masemola) a report on the progress made. Masemola warned contractors in Limpopo in this regard. He said that the provincial government was working on a system to blacklist contractors who continued to do shoddy work and claim money for incomplete projects. He said that the complaints about the unfinished and shoddy work on the D959 Road would be investigated. “We have representatives in that area, and they should notify us if they encounter problems,” he said. Masemola said that they were going to use 5% of the project’s budget to hire local contractors to work on the road. The chairperson of the Zoutpansberg Community Development Forum (ZCDF), Mr Patrick Sikhutshi, and the Secretary of the Sinthumule/ Kutama Concerned Group (SKCG), formerly known as the Sinthumule/Kutama Crisis Committee, Mr Elijah Liremi, were happy about Masemola’s promises. The councillor of the Economic Freedom Fighters in the Makhado Municipality, Ms Tshilidzi Maraga, described Masemola as a “reckless leader who does not care for the lives of the people of Vhembe”. She blamed him for opening the poorly constructed and unfinished D959 Road prematurely. “Masemola has a total disregard for people’s lives. How can a right-minded person open a road which he knows could put people’s lives at risk? What if people were killed?” she asked. “These people have failed the province and they are now putting the lives of the people in danger in the name of service delivery. We are not going to let this matter die down without scrutiny. We will take it up in the legislature,” said a fuming Maraga.
Fisherman drowns while fishing village market. On 12 October, he went fishMr Patricius Netshituni (34) ing as usual with a friend at a from Tshituni Tshafhasi was local dam at Mahangani village. unemployed, but this did not Netshituni ventured deeper and prevent him from making a deeper with his fishing nets, meaningful life for himself aiming for the bigger fish. He and those close to him. He must have lost his footing and would venture to a local dam his head went under water. The to fish, take some of his catch friend looked for him to resurhome and sell the rest at the face, but after a few minutes realised that Netshituni was not coming up, so he ran to the village for help. The police called in their team of search-andrescue divers, but when they arrived at the scene, darkness had already fallen, and the man was nowhere to be found. Police drivers after they had retrieved the Community body of local fisherman Patricius Netshituni and family (34) from Tshituni Tshafhasi. Photo supplied. members slept By Kaizer Nengovhela
next to the dam until the divers returned the next morning. Assisted by community members, they searched the whole area together, using a boat, but with no success. Neshituni’s body was only found the following day (14 October). News about the drowning hit the village, as well as neighbouring villages, in no time via social media and soon the dam was swarming with curious onlookers. The dam is believed to have swallowed many people through drownings. Police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo confirmed the incident. “We have opened an inquest docket and ask residents again, especially children, not to venture into deep waters - either for fishing or swimming - as the rivers hold more dangers than drowning. They can also be attacked by water animals like crocodiles and hippos,” he said. He appealed to parents to tell their children not to play alongside streams, dams or on riverbanks, or swim without the supervision of older people.
LIMPOPO MIRROR
Two gogos accused of witchcraft rescued by police from angry mob By Maanda Bele
find suspicious items in their possession, including muti,” the witness said.
witness said. The daughter said her mother had never been accused of witchcraft before. “In our culture, witches are known to be naked, but my mother was fully dressed. She even had a mask on.” She advised the people of Madombidzha to “go to school and get educated”. “Learn to have respect for your elders,” she said. “The Bible says, ‘honour thy father and thy mother, that it may be well with thee’,” she added. She also asked those who had done the two elderly women wrong to come forward and apologise. Dr Matamba Mamuremi, president of the Vhangona Indigenous Health Practitioners organisation, said certain rituals were often performed at those odd hours. “There is not necessarily anything sinister about their being there at that time. They might have lost their way or got tired after performing rituals,” he said. “But at the same time, there are also evil people who go out to bewitch others, which is not in line with our calling as traditional healers,” he said. The Tshilwavhusiku police confirmed that they had received a report about two elderly women at Madombidzha and rushed to the scene, where they rescued them from the mob. They said no charges had been laid by either of the two women. A hot debate around the incident has since taken root, especially on Facebook, with some believing that the woman were busy with some kind of witchcraft, while others say that old age could have been the reason for their getting lost after performing rituals at a client’s home.
An incident involving two old women who were rescued from an angry mob at “There is not necesMadombidzha Zone 2 last sarily anything sinisweek after villagers started ter about their being accusing them of witchcraft, has become the talk of not there at that time. They only the whole Vhembe area, might have lost their but seemingly the whole of way or got tired after Limpopo. At around 03:30 on the performing rituals.” morning of 15 October, while most of the villagers at Madombidzha were still fast The daughter of one of the asleep, the two women, both in old women spoke to Mpho their 80s, were spotted outside. Rathando on Phalaphala Neither of them is a resident of FM’s talk show on Monday, 18 the village. October. According to her, her What seemed to have raised mother suffers from memory the villagers’ suspicion was the loss. She said her mother and fact that the gogos were seen her mother’s cousin decided near someone’s house with, to visit her (the daughter’s) what upon inspection appeared brother, who lives within walkto have been muti, soap, a piece ing distance from her mother’s of wood and a mirror. Adding house, late last Thursday afterto their mysterious presence noon. Somehow, she said, they was the fact that one of the must have taken a wrong turn women is said to be a tradition- and got lost. al healer from Nzhelele, many “On Friday morning, after kilometres from Madombidzha. dropping my kids off at school Where the other woman is in Louis Trichardt town, somefrom is not clear, but the wom- one I know told me that my en are said to be cousins. mother had fallen, so I rushed At around dawn, however, a to Madombidzha village.” She local resident crossed their path said that, when she arrived at and asked them their business. Madombidzha, she saw her Apparently, they told him that mother lying down on the they were lost and could not ground. “When I got to her, I find their way back home. The tried to pick her up, but she resident alerted others and told me she had been beaten soon the two women were con- with a stone and a bottle.” fronted by a whole mob, who The two old women got in accused them of witchcraft. the car with the daughter, but An eyewitness who arrived at villagers surrounded the car, this scene said that they were refusing to let them leave. Only surprised to find the two gran- the timely arrival of the son nies at that hour of the mornof one of the old women, who ing. “On questioning them was accompanied by the police, about why they were there, they saved them. “Otherwise, we could not give a convincing might have had a very nasty answer. First, they told us that situation on our hands,” a they arrived by the 03:00 am bus. But, of course, we know there is no such bus in the area, as buses only start operating from 05:00. Then they claimed that they were performing rituals at a local household and got lost after assisting their client.” But the villagers were still not convinced by these explanations and were Two old women became the talk of the town when they were accused of getting fed-up with performing witchcraft in Madombidzha village last week. Photo from them. “We were social media with faces blurred to protect their identities. really shocked to
Toddler’s head smashed after fight fighting. When the fight got serious, the family members The rural community of Maila ran out of the house, leaving village was shattered after a Monica’s sister’s two-year-old two-year-old boy was brutally son, Khodani Sadiki, in the killed on 14 October. corridor in the house. Blinded by rage, Moloisi allegedly According to police spokesgrabbed the child and started person Brig Motlafela Mojape- smashing his head against the lo, the suspect, Steven Moloisi, floor. By the time the police and was fighting with his girlfriend, emergency services arrived, the Monica, on the night of the child was dead. incident. Family members Moloisi (42) was arrested woke up at around midnight and charged with murder. He when they heard the two people appeared in the Louis Trichardt By Kaizer Nengovhela
Magistrate’s Court on 15 October. His case was postponed to 27 September for a bail application. The MEC for Social Development Nkakareng Rakgoale has sent her heartfelt condolences to the Sadiki family. “The department remains concerned about incidents of this nature that are being reported in some parts of the province. We urge people to assist government by always ensuring the safety of children,” Rakgoale said.
