Women and children often risk their lives to cross an overflowing river at Khayamandi village, in Cofimvaba, in the Eastern Cape. A number of people have died while attempting to cross using poles and other makeshift tools.
In a bid to save lives, villagers are now calling on the municipality to build a bridge.
Women and children frequently drown in the river. Many have drowned while crossing at Khayamnandi as there’s no alternative route to access health facilities and schools – which are on the other side of the village.
Residents now want the Intsika Yethu Local Municipality to build an access bridge to save lives.
Local Chief Lungiso Simoni says, “The main problem is access to the clinic and the school that is on the adjacent village and you have to cross the river to go to the clinic or to the school. We really need help because life without us accessing health facilities and schools is out. We need immediate intervention.”
Women, children risk their lives daily crossing an overflowing river at Khayamandi village:
A resident, Phumzile Malike says while rainy weather is a blessing to some, for others, it’s a curse.
“It becomes very painful when you see people from Mqolo and Macambalele village access queuing up trying to cross the river. Some of them use wheelchairs to cross the river. A wheelchair is designed to help people with disabilities, not to ferry people across the river. Our government must stand up and assist us.”
This week, the Intsika Yethu Municipality hastily put up a temporal concrete slab for motorists and pedestrians to cross, but it’s doubtful whether it will survive the strong currents.
Mayor Bongani Mpengesi says a proper bridge will be built and completed within three months.
“We have ensured that we have procurement processes that are taking place as we speak and as part of the intervention, the executive has made an item about Khayamnandi bridge and we are busy procuring civil engineer to make a design for that area so that people that are around there can have a bridge to cross there can have the bridge to cross there, let’s say it will take three months, starting from February, March, April. So, by end of April, that bridge would be finished.”
Poor infrastructure in rural municipalities of the province is common. It’s often compounded by a lack of accountability that cripples the rendering of services to poor communities.
For the community of Khayamnandi, the promised construction of a proper bridge will be a huge relief after decades of suffering.
