OVER 60 PUPILS TO MISS LESSONS AS RAINS CONTINUE

SITSATSAWENI – Over 60 pupils enrolled in both primary and high schools in Siteki will miss lessons today following the damage to the road connecting Sitsatsaweni and Siteki town.

According to a resident, Sipho Mvila, the heavy downpour, which started three days ago and is being experienced by the whole country, has worsened the state of the road that was damaged by the effects of Tropical Cyclone Filipo, which hit Madagascar in March. According to Mvila, the road is in a very bad state, making it impossible for public transport to traverse.

Rehabilitate

The resident said the ongoing rains came at a time when they were planning to rehabilitate the road with the assistance of Lugongolweni Member of Parliament, Joseph Souza and Indvuna Yenkhundla Mfana Mamba, who had provided a top loader backhoe (TLB) and a truck. He said their children and commuters who were employed by businesses situated in Siteki town would be hugely affected as they would not be able to go to their respective workplaces and schools. The Times has established that over 40 residents work in Siteki town and will also fail to report to work today due to the bad state of the road and the unavailability of public transport servicing the route. The residents have urged government to intervene by rehabilitating the road. Sitsatsaweni Community Councilor (Bucopho)  Khulile Mpofu also appealed to government to assist with the rehabilitation of the road.

The councillor mentioned that pupils enrolled at schools in the town would miss lessons today as the area was inaccessible due to the heavy downpour that was experienced in the past three days that damaged the road. Mpofu pointed out that government’s intervention could make their lives better as those who operate grocery shops within the community would not be able to travel to town to restock due to the bad state of the road. She said the community had been lagging behind in development initiatives due to the poor road network and expressed her satisfaction that the Big Five Game Park will bring development to the area as the road will be upgraded to a bitumen standard. Lugongolweni Indvuna Yenkhundla Mfana Mamba also shared the same sentiments and indicated that the government needs to act swiftly and rehabilitate the road. He highlighted that the issue of the bad state of the road has been raised several times but it has not been attended to by the government.

Communicate

Lubombo Deputy Regional Education Officer (REO) Thami Dlamini urged parents to communicate with head teachers to inform them about the situation. Dlamini said the Lubombo Region was the most affected in the country by the recent rains.He also appealed to parents to be responsible and ensure that their children remained at home if there would be public transport operating today. Interviewed recently about government’s stance on the rehabilitation of gravel roads across the country, Minister of Public Works and Transport Chief Ndlaluhlanza Ndwandwe assured communities that the government has engaged a higher gear in ensuring that roads were rehabilitated.

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