Waiting in vain for Okavango Bridge opening

Thalefang Charles | Tuesday June 21, 2022 06:00

On June 18, some residents of Shakawe and Mohembo woke up early to go to the Okavango Bridge hoping to be the first members of public to go through the new bridge.

Earlier in the month, bridge engineer Kobamelo Kgoboko, who is the supervising consultant from CPP Botswana, told The Monitor that they would be finished with all the construction works by June 18.

He said that after they missed the “first week of June” deadline.

“All the construction works appear to be done. Barricades have been removed and only some security guards stood in the way. As more people gathered around, the construction authorities brought back the barricades and the bridge was closed again with no official word for the opening,” said Code Dibebe, one of the enthusiastic residents who wanted to use the bridge on Saturday.

On Saturday, Kgoboko declined to offer an interview to the media about the opening dates directing all the enquiries to the Ministry of Transport and Public Works.

But Minister of Works and Transport, Eric Molale was clueless about the opening date. On Saturday Molale responded to bridge opening enquiries saying: “I am in Kazungula, and I do not have any information on the Mohembo Bridge.”

Deputy permanent secretary in the ministry, Isaac Moepeng also gave a noncommittal response saying: “The bridge will be opened anytime soon and the actual date will be communicated shortly.”

Meanwhile, the people of Mohembo East and Okavango Eastern Panhandle still spend long hours waiting for the unreliable Mohembo ferry to cross the river. Some days the ferry only works for less than five hours of the day causing a major pileup of vehicles waiting to get across.

The bridge project was fully funded by the Government of Botswana and awarded as a joint venture to contractors, Itinera and Cimolai from Italy at a contract amount of P1,045,510,751.77. The bridge was scheduled to be completed in May 2021.