Nyawose condemned the destruction of infrastructure during service delivery protests.
“We know that, though the bridge is low, there are people in the community who decided to destroy it during a service delivery protest. I would like to tell the people who mobilise the community during protests that destroying infrastructure is foolish. We should condemn it and urge them not to repeat that even [if] they have grievances against the municipality,” he said.
Mfeka said it's usually people from other areas who don’t use those services who threaten residents and disrupt their projects.
Nyawose also condemned “business forums”, which he said were prevalent in eThekwini. They were criminals who wanted to benefit from projects by force and he assured the community they would not work with them on this project.
“In eThekwini we have the problem of criminals who call themselves businessmen. They call themselves business forums, yet they don’t know anything about business. They are pushed by greed, they want money but don’t want to work. They threaten councillors who end up having their lives in danger just because there’s a project in their ward. Development should not make leaders feel unsafe because of people who are jealous, greedy and want to do things by force,” he said.
“Business people will benefit after following proper procedures, but those coming to sites armed with guns and other weapons will not. We will fight that with the police because we can’t co-govern with criminals.”
Lethukuthula Shozi, an Ogunjini resident, told TimesLIVE it was impossible to cross the bridge on rainy days. Though most services were on the eThekwini side of the river, there were also services people on that side needed from Ndwedwe, so both communities needed the bridge.
“The hospital and high school are on the other side of the river, in ward 59, while the primary school and the nearest police station are this side (ward 13 Ndwedwe), so we need this bridge. Even shops and other services are on the eThekwini side,” he said.
Hlomuka said the project would cost R79m, with R15m allocated for emerging service providers and other percentages for women, youth and the disabled.
At least 55 people would be employed in the project, up from the 16 for the abandoned project. He said general workers would be locals from both wards but supervisors and engineers would come with the contractor.
In addition, 15 young people who have completed grade 12 would receive theoretical training for building bridges and get practical training in this project before being awarded certificates.
The project is meant to be completed within a year and the new bridge will be unveiled in May 2024.
TimesLIVE
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KZN's 'bridge of tragedy' to be completed
The KwaZulu-Natal transport department will complete the infamous bridge connecting eThekwini and Ndwedwe, seven years after it was started.
Construction of the Ogunjini/Umvoti River bridge began in 2016 but was abandoned in 2019 — with only three concrete pillars erected — by the contractor who cited financial constraints. The bridge was meant to replace the old, low-lying bridge the community of Ogunjini used to cross the Umvoti River.
“There were court processes ... and we had to wait until the end of that contract before we could start finding a new contractor,” said Ndwedwe mayor Simon Mfeka.
The low bridge put residents at risk of being swept away after heavy rain and at least three people have died since the project was halted four years ago.
On Tuesday, KZN transport MEC Sipho Hlomuka launched the construction of the new bridge and introduced the new contractor, WSM Group, to the community.
“We are on the bridge that has been sweeping away our people. We have come to unveil the new contractor who will start working from today [Tuesday]. The bridge is the link between Ndwedwe and the eThekwini metro. We're hopeful that this time the project will be completed,” said Hlomuka.
“We have a contractor we trust and have seen complete their work before and on time. That gives us confidence, but they cannot do it without the co-operation of the community. The completion of this project will depend on many different stakeholders. The councillors and traditional leadership have committed to ensuring a smooth completion of the project.”
The bridge was damaged in the floods last year in an incident that saw an eThekwini municipality vehicle trying to cross it being swept away with two workers inside.
The bodies of the workers were found three days later, a few metres from the car they were travelling in.
“This bridge has a long history, but it is not a good one because people lost their lives while trying to cross this bridge. Fixing it evokes many thoughts within us and the families who lost their loved ones here. This work is a sign to respect those who lost their lives here,” said eThekwini council speaker Thabani Nyawose.
The bodies of other people who were swept away haven’t been found, according to eThekwini ward 59 councillor Nkosiyesizwe Mhlongo.
Mfeka said the community was also responsible, as they damaged it during a service delivery protest. He said it first collapsed while a water tanker was trying to cross it to deliver water to the community and “that’s where the problems started”.
Nyawose condemned the destruction of infrastructure during service delivery protests.
“We know that, though the bridge is low, there are people in the community who decided to destroy it during a service delivery protest. I would like to tell the people who mobilise the community during protests that destroying infrastructure is foolish. We should condemn it and urge them not to repeat that even [if] they have grievances against the municipality,” he said.
Mfeka said it's usually people from other areas who don’t use those services who threaten residents and disrupt their projects.
Nyawose also condemned “business forums”, which he said were prevalent in eThekwini. They were criminals who wanted to benefit from projects by force and he assured the community they would not work with them on this project.
“In eThekwini we have the problem of criminals who call themselves businessmen. They call themselves business forums, yet they don’t know anything about business. They are pushed by greed, they want money but don’t want to work. They threaten councillors who end up having their lives in danger just because there’s a project in their ward. Development should not make leaders feel unsafe because of people who are jealous, greedy and want to do things by force,” he said.
“Business people will benefit after following proper procedures, but those coming to sites armed with guns and other weapons will not. We will fight that with the police because we can’t co-govern with criminals.”
Lethukuthula Shozi, an Ogunjini resident, told TimesLIVE it was impossible to cross the bridge on rainy days. Though most services were on the eThekwini side of the river, there were also services people on that side needed from Ndwedwe, so both communities needed the bridge.
“The hospital and high school are on the other side of the river, in ward 59, while the primary school and the nearest police station are this side (ward 13 Ndwedwe), so we need this bridge. Even shops and other services are on the eThekwini side,” he said.
Hlomuka said the project would cost R79m, with R15m allocated for emerging service providers and other percentages for women, youth and the disabled.
At least 55 people would be employed in the project, up from the 16 for the abandoned project. He said general workers would be locals from both wards but supervisors and engineers would come with the contractor.
In addition, 15 young people who have completed grade 12 would receive theoretical training for building bridges and get practical training in this project before being awarded certificates.
The project is meant to be completed within a year and the new bridge will be unveiled in May 2024.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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