Gwanda Residents complain on Mtshabezi River Bridge

Residents of Gwanda have expressed serious displeasure at the condition of Mtshabezi River Bridge in the town.

The very narrow bridge linking the town with Blanket Mine, Vumbachikwe Mine and Wenlock Tribal Trust Land was build in the late 50s or early 60s and has never been attended to since. The 10m x 2.5m bridge is in a very steep 25m gorge and is servicing a huge flow of traffic of about 500 cars a day.

In its early days the bridge was build as a mere access bridge for the small traffic between Gwanda and the mines but of late the volume of traffic has increased so much that the bridge is now a catastrophe in waiting. The bridge is now being used by a huge volume of heavy trucks and tractors carrying gold ore from the small scale farmers to the millers.

There is also a huge increase of trucks carrying cattle from the newly resettled farmers across the river to cattle sale points in Gwanda Town. There is also an increase in population of people living in the new resettlement and the mines and so causing a huge increase in the traffic of commuter buses and taxis going over the bridge.

To make matters worse, Gwanda Municipality opened a new cemetery across the river and on a daily basis a convoy of cars and buses has to make way over the dangerous bridge. There is also an increased visibility of cross border carriers (oMalayitsha) crossing the bridge with their heavy loads and passengers either escaping police on the main Bulawayo Highway or accessing the Kezi and Matobo rural areas.

In recent years several cars and trucks have plunged down the steep gorge into the river causing deaths and serious injuries. The worst that happened in recent years was when a truck loaded with a dangerous chemical plunged into the river contaminating the water in the river resulting in death of fish and livestock down stream. In another bizarre incident a Gwanda Resident who resides across the river also died when in a drunk state failed to negotiate his way walking across the bridge fell into the river and drowned.

Over the years all Members of Parliament who have represented Gwanda in Parliament have used the promise to build a new bridge over the river as a campaign tool and all has come to nothing. Speaking in an unofficial discussion on the way to a burial recently one resident was heard proposing that perhaps the only way government would be forced to do something about the bridge would be to have people come at night and blow the bridge with explosives.

Efforts to get comment from the Member of Parliament for Gwanda Central Mr Edison Gumbo failed as his close associates indicated that he was away on holiday visiting his Mberengwa rural home for Christmas. We will however keep tracking him until we get him for a comment before this time bomb Gwanda is sitting on explodes.