09 Mar 2014

Councillors in Bobirwa have called for a special dispensation to repair roads in the sub-district, which they say are in a bad state.

Principal roads engineer in the department of roads, Mr Onthatile Dijokota also agreed with their sentiments, saying the bad state of roads in Bobirwa was worsened by the recent heavy rains.

Speaking at a council meeting on March 6, Bobirwa Sub-district Council chairperson, Mr Ishmael Legwaila said roads in Bobirwa were in an appalling condition and needed to be repaired urgently.

He explained that a number of villages in Bobirwa receive services from Bobonong and Mmadinare, and the linking roads between the villages are in a bad state. Mr Legwaila added that most of the linking roads are gravel roads and they get washed away very easily during heavy rains.

“Maintaining these roads is a challenge because of shortage of finance,” he said. He further explained that the Bobirwa area had big rivers and streams, which resulted in destruction of culverts during heavy downpours.

Therefore, said Mr Legwaila, it was not economical to carry out maintenance during the rainy season. Mr Legwaila added that most of the tarred roads were damaged and in need of resealing. He gave an example of the Bobonong/Sefophe and Sefophe/Martins Drift roads.

He explained that potholes were still a cause for concern along Sefophe/Martins Drift road. “The Sefophe/Martins Drift road will be overlaid to ease movement of traffic while Bobonong/Sefhophe road will be fog sprayed,” he said.

He added that private contractors would also be engaged to rehabilitate gravel roads in the area. For his part, Mr Dijokota said Tshokwe, Lepokole and Tobane villages posed a huge challenge because they were situated between big streams, such that they were isolated during the rainy season.

He further explained that the roads department had no funds to construct permanent bridges to link these villages. Mr Dijokota also told the council that construction of the Platjan border post bridge, which links Botswana and South Africa, would commence in June this year at a cost of P90 million. The project will take 18 months to complete.

Commenting on the update, councillor Nathaniel Moribame of Molalatau said it is shameful that the Sefophe/Martins Drift road has big potholes even though it is often used by tourists en route to Tuli Block.

“Bobirwa is a tourist attraction and it should have better roads,” he said. Mr Moses Seeletso, councillor for Mmadinare South East, suggested that government should introduce toll gates to raise funds for maintenance of roads and construction of new ones.

He raised concerns that trucks pass through Botswana without paying while in South Africa toll gate levies help maintain roads. Ends