The Oodi road project denigrates us

| Thursday March 17, 2011 00:00

The ground has been broken and the execution is on. To a passerby it's yet another beautiful million Pula project which would see one or three Ds of the President of Botswana effected; Development, Delivery, and Discipline.

This does not translate the same way for the people that are affected, those who live in Matebele, Oodi, Modipane and other villages in the periphery. Most of them have come to experience dishonesty, disrespect and distrust (Ds on the other side), health hazards, financial costs etc.

I'm a new resident in Matebele, who didn't have any option before, but to either hit the dusty turn off to Matebele from the Oodi route or bite my lip and take the hair raising Oodi one lane, which was two lanes some time ago.

This is the situation we lived under, which situation ate at our pride, dignity and happiness in life. It is a fact that both of these roads could have been made traversable somehow even without tar long time back. Lo and behold.

Only God knows why the residents of this area were left to stress, endure endless punctures and accidents for a while now. We had already given up and were getting on with our lives, still paying tax though. Sometime last year I personally attended a meeting at Matebele kgotla addressed by the MP for the area, Isaac Mabiletsa. He had taken time to come and explain the delay in tarring of this road that connects this area to Mmamashia. The MP explained that though the project was in the current National Development Plan 10 for implementation, there have been unexpected hiccups and therefore delays.

He explained that the money for the road had been found from some external bank, Arab or something but because of the competing needs arising from the recession, we could not pass the priority tests. So the money had been diverted elsewhere, unfortunately - the MP said.  It was a hard report to swallow by the attendees, but again the big boss from the financial center had spoken and the statement would become law. We were assured that we should not despair much, because efforts were being made to get the funding. I know a question was asked on the location and trail of the tarred road to be constructed. We were told the road would go through some fields, through Matebele and into Oodi passing to other villages.

And by the way the route had already been surveyed and there was ample space to manoeuvre through without any difficulties. All of us had already accepted that there would be a tarred road passing through Matebele one day. Come the year 2011. Preparatory developments and pegs are seen along the Oodi route. And then? Those who have information allege to all of us that the original idea has been shelved and now the tarred road will be constructed though Oodi; and may be or may not be up to Matebele.

Now, we wonder what happened to the principle of consultation. The department of roads never bothered to communicate this to residents of the area. Let me just give a little lecture on the modern techniques of participatory development. The community needs to be part of the planning, design and implementation of the projects that concern them, especially public projects.

As per this project, no one talked to us or had any intentions, even on the changes of the designs. Let me explicitly say we do not have good feelings about this project, especially the residents of Matebele village, and you might not even get our full cooperation. We feel offended and disrespected, especially because we were not consulted.

The planning and designs of this project has been flawed from a number of perspectives. In the first place there were no preparations before the project began. Motorists on the routes to and from areas in the southern Kgatleng area just came one afternoon and their normal routes were closed. We all have to take the dusty and potholed branching road passing through Matebele village and crossing a stream, which does not even have a functional bridge. I wish it rains today for everybody to see how the authorities are going to play this hasty and unplanned game of theirs.

The now overused diversion road was not prepared for the huge traffic that it now shoulders. The dust that the traffic generates le boloya le dikolobe. God knows how the asthmatic and others with various health complications are coping? The people who have their residences next to this invaded dusty road cannot take this assault any more. They are just feeling helpless. You can't even put your washing linen outside to dry within 200 metres radius.

In conclusion, I want to appeal to the department of roads to clear this mess quickly. We are taxpaying bonafide citizens of this country. We deserve respect and we demand it. If need be just stop the project for a while and prepare this new route for the traffic it currently holds. I am not an expert on road construction, you should know how. We feel robbed of dignity, disrespected and abused.

We might need the road but not at the cost of our health and endangering our lives resulting from the accidents.The dust blurs the view so much that one can't even see the oncoming traffic even with the lights on.

Lesitamang Ranko Matebele