For years, residents of Sebokeng and Evaton have been forced to use an unsafe makeshift pedestrian bridge to cross a stream that overflows during the rainy season. This is because a decade ago, the Emfuleni municipality demolished a bridge that used to be about 100m from the makeshift bridge. However, the municipality has not rebuilt its replacement, as per the initial plan, claiming it does not have the money.
A Vereeniging businessman, Julius Kaizer, has helped built built a makeshift pedestrian bridge costing about R8,000 after a plea by communities of Evaton and Sebokeng Zone 7. But the use of the structure has raised safety concerns for locals, especially school kids who walk across it daily. The bridge connects Sebokeng and Evaton but it has no side rails, further heightening the risks of schoolchildren and adults falling off.
Emfuleni municipal spokesperson Makhosonke Sangweni told Sowetan that Emfuleni did not have the budget for a new bridge. “We are not in a space of building new infrastructure, as our budget is for maintenance of the existing asset,” he said. Sangweni said the municipality would try to raise the money to resolve the matter, “although we can’t be categorical on the day [it will happen]”.
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Motorists and pedestrians used the previous bridge, but it was demolished in 2012 when contractors began a road project that remains incomplete. We are concerned that the municipality states it has no plans to fix the road and install a safer, permanent bridge. The municipality had already spent R52m on the project, which several contractors later abandoned.
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