“This Is a Trap”: Limpopo Villagers Build Own Wooden Bridge Sparking Safety Concerns

• Residents of Mafarafara and Taung in Limpopo have begged their municipality for a bridge for 30 years
• The community built its own wooden bridge using poles and corrugated iron sheets to cross the river
• The Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality has not responded to questions about a permanent bridge

Residents of Mafarafara and Taung in Limpopo have built their own wooden bridge over the Steelpoort River. The makeshift crossing follows 30 years of failed pleas to their local municipality for help.

The Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality has never erected an access bridge for the two villages. Locals now cross using a structure balanced on poles and covered with corrugated iron sheets.

Decades of broken promises

The bridge owners reportedly charge R10 for every single crossing trip across the river. Villagers use the route daily to reach nearby schools and clinics in Taung. Mafarafara has no clinic of its own, forcing sick residents to cross often. Elderly and ill people sometimes make the risky trip at night. Taxi fares between the villages remain too costly for many families there.

Read also

Durban tourism group uncovers reason behind Cave Rock’s disappearance from Bluff

A report by Sekhukhune Times found little had changed since a 2023 visit to the area. Back then, residents relied on a sewaiwai, a makeshift steel cart, to cross the flooded river. More than three years later, there is still no permanent bridge in place.

Community members say floods could easily wash away their makeshift wooden structure. Some residents have drowned in past years trying to swim across the river. Locals claim municipal officials have visited before but never followed through with help. Their last known visit reportedly happened just before the 2024 national elections. Residents believe the visit was only meant to secure votes from the area.

The municipality was contacted for comment on plans to build a proper bridge. No response had been received by the time of publishing this report.

Watch the video below:

More stories coming out of Limpopo

• A 21-year-old man has been arrested in Limpopo after allegedly raping and killing 12 goats in a case that has shocked communities and animal welfare organisations.
• A university student died, and two others were seriously injured after all three jumped from the back of a moving bakkie on the R523.
• Residents of Ramoadi Section in Sekgopo, Limpopo, were left shaken after a large python was found lying on the grave of the late Wilson Sontaga Sekopana.

Source: Briefly News