Twenty people have lost their lives in road carnage in Limpopo this past weekend alone. The causes were speeding, illegal overtaking and reckless driving. The Malange family at Madombidzha village outside Louis Trichardt lost three family members.
A bakkie transporting family members collided head-on with a sedan on the D959 road killing four people. Angry community members marched to the offices of the Makhado Local Municipality calling for amongst other things government to fix potholes.
The road is full of potholes making it difficult for motorists to drive on. However, the accident which claimed the lives of the Malange family members was caused by speeding and reckless driving. Two weeks ago, the provincial government promised that the road will be fixed soon.
Malange family spokesperson Michael Malange says it’s sad that they lost three family members on the road which has in the past claimed several lives.
“We have lost three members of our family and one child was taken to the Memorial Hospital and has been admitted. So, we are very much in pain and we don’t know what to say because it’s a great loss. Even the community of Madombidzha are crying at large.”
Some businesses were shut down to allow people to take part in the march.
Spokesperson of the Zoutspansberg Development Forum Patrick Sikhutshi led a community march to the local municipality.
“Just yesterday, we had four fatalities on D959 the road that we have been complaining about for quite some time now and what makes this situation worse, is that it is the whole family that is actually wiped out. So, how many people should actually die before this road is fixed?”
Transport and Community Spokesperson Michael Maringa has called on taxi drivers to adhere to the 100-kilometer per hour speed limit around the province.
“We are worried about the rising cases of fatal cases in the province. You might have seen that over the weekend we have recorded about 20 fatalities on our roads. We are also worried that public transport, taxis, in particular, are involved. Our plea to taxi drivers and other road drivers is that they must at least reduce their speed to hundred because speeding has been recorded as a common factor for the accidents that we have recorded in the province.”
Traffic is expected to increase on the N1 towards the Beitbridge Border Post into Zimbabwe as many people will be heading for various Christmas holiday destinations.
