Makhado Municipality to blame for dust, not developer

Date: 29 May 2021 By: Andries van Zyl

Residents of especially First Street in Eltivillas have vented their anger in recent weeks regarding the severe dust pollution caused by the dirt road connecting the town’s new sporting facilities, which houses the Louis Trichardt Rugby Club among others, with this quiet residential suburb.

Their troubles started when the Louis Trichardt Rugby Club, as well as other sporting facilities, was relocated to a new site as part of expanding the Makhado Crossing shopping mall into a regional shopping mall. The construction work was undertaken by the mall’s developers, the Masingita Group of Companies. Prior to relocating the rugby club to its present premises, the club’s entrance was along the R524 road (to Levubu). The new entrance road now connects the rugby club, situated behind the show grounds, with First Avenue via a dirt road running parallel to First Street, literally right behind some residences. Initially, Eltivillas residents were informed that the dirt road would be a temporary one.

The Masingita Group of Companies responded to accusations that they are to blame for the situation the past week. They categorically stated that, as developers of the mall, they had no jurisdiction over the road. “The original intention for the access road to the sporting facilities that were upgraded by the developer and brought up to building code standards would have been off the R524; however, SANRAL at the time noted that there were too many illegal roads and access points that caused public safety concerns on the road and enforced the closure of roads and entrances,” stated Ms Landi van Deventer, head of marketing for Masingita.

According to Van Deventer, the developer complied with all regulations and acted on instruction from the municipality to construct the access road on land donated by the municipality. “Please note that the facilities were handed, constructed and handed over after various stakeholder engagements more than three years ago and the developer cannot accept liability for the directives received from governing bodies,” said Van Deventer.

Makhado municipal spokesperson Mr Louis Bobodi also responded the past week by stating that the dirt road indeed fell under their jurisdiction and not Masingita as the developer. “The road is temporary, and the Makhado Municipality will provide an alternative road after the finalisation of the planned Eltivillas Extension 2 Township,” said Bobodi. He did not say when this would take place.

Bobodi was also asked why the municipality had not looked at other alternative access roads to the new sporting facilities, such as making use of the existing road through the municipal show grounds. “The municipality will look at the proposed alternative,” stated Bobodi.

For the interim, Bobodi was also asked whether they would consider tarring the dirt road. To this, Bobodi replied: “A proper layout and plan for [a] street must first be done before the road can be tarred.” He concluded by stating that, as a municipality, they would attend to the dust problem urgently.

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Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

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