HIGH VOLUME OF TRUCKS IN TRANSIT FROM THE COMMUNITY
Sphamandla Khambule
Sphamandla Khambule
Kaalvakte Farm
Dannhauser Local Municipality
KwaZulu Natal
HIGH VOLUME OF TRUCKS IN TRANSIT FROM THE COMMUNITY
Tempers are flaring within the ranks of the residents, who have promised to impose their blockage to stop trucks being used to haul coal from Shepstone Lake farm.
Big trucks with their heavy tons, use the community tarred and gravel roads, this is severally affecting the community infrastructure, especially the water pipeline, power lines, and roads with potholes and erosion, from their speeding, there is no quarry to maintain these heavily used gravel roads as the community quarry previously used is now exhausted. This also concerns the damage to connection roads between Kliprand farm and Shepstone Lake farm across Kalvakte farm, some of the community members decided to do something, by building their traffic humps demanding truck drivers to reduce speed, “We don’t want to cause havoc’’ Words from one of the community members.
More concerns are the spreading of slurry foamed by coal dust and heavy dust to the community, this ongoing malaise, caused by many big heavy trucks, Sukumani Environmental Justice on 31 March 2022 set a meeting with Ikwezi mining director concerning heavy dust and debris from trucks, Ikwezi mining promised to put in place measures by tarping their trucks and constructing road to connect Kliprand and wash plant as an alternative to reduce impacts from the trucks on the surrounding communities. But Ikwezi Mining failed to reinforce its position by ensuring that its trucks are tarp and use the alternative road as they promised in the meeting, the truck bins in transit from Shepstone Lake to Emoyeni wash plant, by using community roads.
Sukumani Environmental Justice has set social media alight with residents’ complaints, some foresee the total demise of the communities near Ikwezi mining company, The resultant of high speed was unpausing and risk of kids who play near the route, air pollution from coal dust and especially to livestock in transit on the route