Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Zweli Mkhize will next week hand over the R10 million Mpame bridge to communities in Mbhashe Municipality.
The Minister will be joined by the Provincial and Local Government leadership at the handover.
“Mpame bridge is an important infrastructure for the communities in the various Mbashe villages built by the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency (MISA), which is a special purpose vehicle established by Cogta to accelerate the delivery and maintenance of infrastructure in municipalities to enhance better service delivery,” the department said.
For many years, community members residing on either side of Mpame bridge had to go through dangerous makeshift structures to cross the local river to visit each other, access different community services such as schools, hospitals, clinics, churches and other public amenities. This left communities frustrated and in some seasons, this led to fatalities that could have been avoided if infrastructure was in place, the department said.
Following these challenges, Cogta intervened through MISA to construct a bridge to connect communities in all the eight villages, namely KwaTshezi, Manzibomvu, Mdikana, Mpame, Mncwasa, Ngileni, Mkhathazo and Manzamnyama.
“The communities from the eight Mbashe villages recall terrifying stories of crossing the overflowing river having to take off their clothes, which stripped them of their dignity,” said Cogta.
The department said the lack of a proper and safe bridge made communities dread rainy seasons, as they feared for their lives when they or their children had to cross the overflowing river. – SAnews.gov.za
