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Parents carry their babies on their backs to cross the Mufongodi River. Photo supplied.

Pupils risk their lives to cross the Mufongodi river

 

The Sane pedestrian makeshift cable bridge has collapsed again, only three weeks after being repaired.

The Sane bridge and the pedestrian cable bridge, both linking the village of Sane to its sub-village, Sane-Natalia, were swept away by the recent heavy rains and floods in the area. The Mufongodi River also overflowed.

After a visit to the village by the executive mayor of the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM), Dowelani Nenguda, Makhado Mayor Samuel Munyai and other councillors on 11 February, Nenguda announced that Makhado municipal workers were already on site and hard at work to fix these bridges. However, only the pedestrian bridge was repaired, while the villagers were also promised that official work on the reconstruction of the Sane Bridge would start on 26 February, which never happened.

Hundreds of children in the Sane-Natalia section must now use the only alternative they have – risking their lives by crossing the still-flooding Mufongodi River. This is their only means to get to school and back home. Parents accompany their children to help them cross the flooding river, out of fear that they might be swept away by the current.

One of the pupils, Mashudu Mulea, told Limpopo Mirror that many of them had to cross the Mufongodi River to get to their different schools every day. “Last month, we nearly drowned as we had to cross the pedestrian bridge to school amid strong currents, because it had rained. Water was above our knees and we clung to each other’s hands,” Mulea said.

Another pupil, Dakalo Madega, said that she would not risk her life by crossing the river. “We have pleaded with community leaders to erect a proper makeshift bridge, so we can cross the Mufongodi,” Madega said. “Despite the rains, teachers continue with lessons in our absence.”

Ms Elisa Tshipuke of Sane also decried the collapse of the pedestrian bridge. “This is bad, and it seems as if we are going to experience what we saw in 2000, when thousands of people lost their houses. Some families also lost loved ones. We can't manage to cross this bridge,” Tshipuke said.

The spokesperson for the VDM, Matodzi Ralushai, said that the four municipalities under Vhembe had been affected the most by the rains. Other areas had no water, as pipes had been washed away.

The Makhado Municipality’s spokesperson, Mr Louis Bobodi, said this week that the municipality’s workers were busy in the area, erecting a temporary pedestrian bridge, and a contractor was busy at the site to rebuild the bridge. A temporary bridge will be built for cars to cross.

 

News - Date: 13 March 2021

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Kaizer Nengovhela

Kaizer Nengovhela started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror in 2000. Prior to that he had a five year stint at Phala-Phala FM as sports presenter. In 2005 Kaizer received an award from the province's premier as Best Sports Presenter. The same year he was also nominated as Best Sports Reporter by the Makhado Municipality. Kaizer was awarded the Mathatha Tsedu award in 2014.

Email: [email protected]

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