Kwetyana clinic not accessible when rain makes roads slippery
WHILE most of the country battles a drought, a Kwetyana community outside East London dreads the rain as their roads are so bad that they can’t reach their clinic in wet weather.
Only last week residents watched in disbelief as a truck carrying water to them in tanks overturned. Villagers said the driver was not badly injured but he was rushed to hospital.
Community member Sammy Pauli said rainy weather prevented the nurses from getting to work.
The community’s Masiphile Clinic is on the other side of a low-lying bridge.
Pauli said last week’s accident was not the first time a vehicle had overturned there because of bad roads.
“A person died a couple of years ago after he could not control his car after it had rained,” he added.
Another resident Mkhululi Mgudlwa said the bridge overflows whenever it rains heavily.
“The government must provide us with a proper bridge. We need rain for our gardens and cattle but because of what the rain does to our roads, we pray that it does not rain.
“Many elderly people cannot get their chronic medication from the clinic because of the roads,” he said.
Elderly villager Nomsa Mbekeni said: “This road is generally bad, but it gets worse when it rains.”
Nosimo Tukute said: “Even though the road looks like it is smooth, it is not. This accident with the truck is probably the fourth or the fifth accident because of the bad roads. Once an accident was so bad that people had to be airlifted. This is a real problem and this community needs help.”
Provincial roads and public works spokesman Mphumzi Zuzile said they were unaware of the problems faced by Kwetyana residents.
“Five contractors have been appointed for a three-year period. R400million has been set aside for the regravelling of rural roads while we try to get funds to tar the roads.
“The department does have a plan to ensure that all roads, especially those leading to schools and healthcare facilities, are maintained,” Zuzile said. —