By ‘Majirata Latela
Communities affected by the Ha Marakabei-Monontša road in Botha-Bothe are furious at the slow pace of relocation, repair to damaged houses and compensation for land lost during the construction of the road.
This 60km road is meant to link Lesotho and the Free State province of the neighbouring South Africa as a collector route for villages around the Botha Bothe and Leribe districts.
The road construction is expected to cost the government M925 million.
Some of the communities living along the road say although they welcome the infrastructure, they are dissatisfied that the government has not repaired their damaged houses. They also demand compensation for their damaged property including cropping fields and tree plantations.
During a recent visit to the area, cracked houses are a stand-out sight. Some of them are hazardously close to the road side. And are believed to have been damaged during blasting.
Some of the community members have not yet been relocated while others were resettled at the commencement of works in the area.
A distraught villager, ‘Majubile Matela of Ha Paramente, has two houses cracked. She believes the damage was a result of rock blasting during operations on the road. The earthmoving equipment is also responsible for unsettling vibrations.
“On one occasion I was resting in the house and could hear sounds during the construction that my house was cracking. I could hear it cracking little by little. I went outside to see if I could see any cracks. There were only a few cracks then, but as the construction continued every now and then we started witnessing new cracks inside and outside of the house.
“I requested my husband to consult with those who are responsible. Yes, some officials came and inspected the house. There was one unidentified public works official who enquired about the initial state of the house before construction. It was proved the cracks were not there.
“They (officials) only said they will get back to us, never to be seen again. That was in April last year when all this happened. I decided to fix the house from the inside to protect ourselves and our belongings from the dust coming through from the road. I used mud and cow dung to cover the cracks. We are still waiting for them to come,” Matela said.
Also irked by the construction is the widowed ‘Marosina Mosolleli of Liphakoeng, Ha Mashoba whose house lies perilously close to the road.
Mosolleli says when the construction of the road started last year in April, she was promised to be relocated. But this has not come to pass as she is forced to live two yards from the road.
She had enthusiastically looked forward to being resettled far from the road before construction started. But time is ticking towards completion of the works next year despite promises of relocation.
“My husband was still alive when we were told that we would be relocated. Yes, he was already sick, but I believe he would still be alive if the house was moved before the construction of the house.
“During the construction three vehicles which were passing by nearly hit or fell over our roof. After the road was tarred two more vehicles also nearly veered off the road to ram into the house. It is only by God’s mercy that none of the cars hit or fell on our roof.
“My husband was blind but his sense of hearing was still good. We were told before he died that his blood pressure was very high. Upon hearing the alarm from neighbours alerting us of the near-crash of vehicles, he would ask to be moved out, fearing a possible collapse on the house
She has since made a heartfelt call to those “in authority” to heed her plea to be resettled somewhere else with her grandchildren so she can live in peace.
Another elderly woman, ‘Matumelo Matela (79), also from Ha Paramente was visibly infuriated as she yearned for compensation for her lost piece of land. But she is also waiting.
She said during public consultations, the villagers were promised compensation for land that would be affected by the project implementation. But nothing has materialised since then.
“I do not want anything to do with the people working on this road. They are very arrogant and disrespectful. They just do things without telling us anything. They once sent someone here to remove poles that protected my yard, without a word.
“Now my yard is just in an open space where strangers can trespass as they please. They even destroyed my small plot at which I grew vegetables. They did not care to replace it,” she lamented.
The spokesperson for the Roads Directorate, Nosizolo Mpopo, indicated that the directorate divides compensations in batches. She said the first batch to be compensated was that of villagers whose houses are directly affected by the road construction.
She said in some cases the engineers decided it was not necessary to relocate villagers when construction began. She admitted there has been an about-turn on the part of the contractors, regarding the villagers’ relocation.
“The villagers’ cracking houses will be assessed and fixed only after the construction as they will continue to crack as construction works continue.
“We also have people who demand to be relocated even when there is no need. We know some people would want to be relocated just because they realised that the relocated ones are now having good houses.
“With people whose compensations are still pending, for example people whose land has been taken, they are still going to get their dues. I just can’t say when,” Mpopo said.
She concluded that the directorate is currently waiting for this year’s budget allocation “so we can be able to pay the contractor.”
The Marakabei-Monontša road is also meant to be a connector route for settlements along the Caledon River such as Ha Paramente, Ha Poosho, Makhunoane, Ha Mabine, Qholaqhoe, Ha Lepatoa, Mechechane Ha Napo, Saballa and Libono Camp link them with the Butha-Buthe district headquarters.
The project road, is composed of earthworks, pavement layer-works, drainage structures and asphalt and concrete surfacing, a bridge across Hololo River as well as erosion protection works
