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Villagers living around the abandoned R1.7bn Mtentu mega bridge project in Mbizana are shocked at the sudden withdrawal of the contractors.
They said they’d been left in the dark by contractors and road building agency Sanral.
The Dispatch visited the 1.1km-long bridge area and saw construction sites with machines and other equipment standing under heavy guard.
The bridge is central to the greenfields Wild Coast toll road, the last link in the revamped N2 connecting Durban to Buffalo City. At a micro-level it is designed to connect Jama village on the east side of the Mtentu gorge to Khanyayo village on the west near Lusikisiki.
It will also connect Mbizana directly to Lusikisiki, avoiding the longer route via Flagstaff.
Sanral last year awarded the contract to a joint venture comprising Aveng Grinaker-LTA and a European construction firm, Strabag (ASJV).
ASJV on Monday announced its termination of the project.
Aveng said the contractors had not been on site since October 22 “due to threats of violence and levels of community unrest and protest action related to demands made against Sanral”.
Sanral Eastern Cape manager Mbulelo Peterson said: “We want them (ASJV) back on the site. They must come back and finish the project.”
Peterson said 400 people were employed in the project, mostly from the local villages.
He said because the withdrawal was so sudden, Sanral had been unable to communicate with stakeholders, including villagers and their leaders. “We will have a meeting with all stakeholders next week to inform them and tell them of our plans.”
At the site on Wednesday, workers, residents and traditional leaders said they had not been officially informed of the termination by Sanral or ASJV.
Jama villagers said they heard about it from the media. Some told the Dispatch they wanted President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene and that they dearly wanted the development.
They confirmed that they had problems with the construction companies, and that they’d held protests. But they were shocked to see the contractors throw in the towel instead of addressing their issues.
Workers said the whole of the Amadiba administrative area under Nkosi Lunga Baleni wanted the project.
Resident Ntombufikile Smith and others said they had embraced the projects in the belief that it would make difference in their lives.
''We have sacrificed our grazing lands, gardens and homesteads and allowed ourselves to be relocated to other places to ensure this project continues.
“But now we are worried when we see contractors leaving us and all the development vanishing.
“President Ramaphosa must intervene and bring them back. We really want such huge developments in Mpondoland. This is the biggest ever project in Mpondoland since the new government,” she said.
A widowed mother of five said despite having no family member working here, she was still proud of the project. “It is not about me, but about my community.
“As long as my community was being developed I was happy. This bridge will not only give jobs, it will also make our lives easier to travel from Mbizana to Lusikisiki,” said Smith.
“That was going to assist us to connect easier and quicker to Khanyayo, Lusikisiki and other villages. And the bridge was also going to have good effect and boost tourism in our areas. It would make connecting to the Wild Coast easier. We want the project back.”
At the construction site the Dispatch was met by gates and inside there were armed special security guards watching over the heavy machinery.
Nobody was allowed in. The whole area was quiet. More heavy machinery was parked on both sides of the gorge.
Both AmaMpondo King Zanozuku Sigcau and Amadiba Traditional Council head Nkosi Lunga Baleni said it was sad to have a mega project of this magnitude, which was aimed at bringing mass development to Mpondoland, dumped. It left the community in the lurch.
“We were all excited with this project and were looking forward to development in Mpondoland. There was no courtesy even to engage with the plan to depart,” said King Sigcau.
Baleni echoed the king, saying they would talk to Sanral to look for a way forward.
“We want nothing else but for the work to resume and the project to continue as planned. We cannot allow this project to be dumped,” said Baleni.
Nomnqophiso Dimane, 23, a resident of Jama and a Walter Sisulu University building student, was an intern on the site.
“I don’t know what to do now. They have not filled any documents. This left us worried. It was so beneficial to me, especially that the project is here at home. All of us young people were happy to have such a big project here at home.”
Villager and worker Nkosi Baleni said they had all been expecting to come back to work on February 4.
● On Tuesday Sanral spokesman Vusi Mona hit out at ASJV saying they were not being truthful about their reasons for pulling out. All their safety concerns were sorted out. Meetings with all stakeholders, including communities, had reached resolution and the way was clear for construction to continue.