GOVT TLB IDLE OUTSIDE COMPLEX FOR A YEAR

MBABANE – While its services could benefit many communities, a government heavy duty utility vehicle has been lying idle at Lomahasha area for close to a year now.

The vehicle, a tractor-loader backhoe, which is usually referred to as TLB, is parked just a few metres from the Lomahasha Shopping Complex. A TLB, which costs around E500 000,  is a tractor-like vehicle with a backhoe at the rear, a front loader on the other and a swivelling seat to position the operator facing whichever direction is needed at the time. It can be used for a variety of tasks; construction, small demolitions, light transportation of building materials, digging holes or excavation, landscaping, breaking asphalt and paving roads. Its relatively small frame and precise control makes a TLB useful and common in urban engineering projects such as construction and repairs in areas too small for larger equipment.

Community members who spoke on condition of anonymity said while they understood that government had financial challenges, it did not make sense to have the vehicle parked for such a long time. “We believe that the vehicle was bought with taxpayers’ money and keeping it here means throwing that money down the drain. We all know that heavy duty utility vehicles are needed in most communities so it is puzzling that this one is lying idle,” one of the community members said. Another community member raised concern that the place where the vehicle was parked was not secure. “Thieves could be tempted to steal the vehicle’s parts and that will mean taxpayers’ money would have to be used to buy the parts,” the community member said. Last year, this publication reported that there was a vehicle, a Komatsu bulldozer, which had developed mechanical faults around September 2019 and had been parked at a private property for the better part of the year 2020.

Before that, this publication reported about another government TLB which was parked at a private home near Nsangwini. It should be noted that most communities are in desperate need of heavy duty utility vehicles for activities like fixing bridges. Also, the TLB would come in handy as government recently implemented a project aimed at fixing the country’s roads. At the end of last month, Minister of Public Works and Transport Chief Ndlaluhlaza Ndwandwe officially launched the 2021 nationwide  rehabilitation of 400kms of roads project worth E48 million. The project has begun with the rehabilitation of the 20km Lugangeni-Kukhanyeni Road.
The project was necessitated by the harsh after effects of Cyclone Eloise, where the country experienced a lot of rainfall and road infrastructure was extensively damaged.

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