RESIDENTS of Jukulyn in Soshanguve, Tshwane, are concerned about their safety.
This is due to the unstable makeshift bridge built by residents with damaged sewage drainage pipes abandoned by the municipality.
The bridge which helps schoolchildren, workers, and the public cross the river to the main road, is slightly collapsing.
When Daily Sun visited the area on Monday, April 15, the bridge was over a stream that is uneven, with overgrown grass surrounding it.
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It is located between block KK and FF, about a kilometre and a half from where matric pupil Palesa Malatji from Matsemela High School was found raped and murdered in May 2023.
Residents fear for their safety, especially the pupils who normally, some as young as five, with reports of robberies along the route.
"This place is also a hiding place for thieves because residents are robbed on their way to and from school and work," a concerned resident said.
Community leader Tebogo Mlambo blamed the rise in crime to the city's neglect of cutting the grass as criminals hide there.
Another resident, Mpho Mohlala (33), is appealing to Good Samaritans to help finance the construction of a proper bridge.
“We will no longer wait for the municipality. They have failed us, and they will continue to do so. We will volunteer with labour if we can get material from donations,” he said.
Ward 26 councillor Joseph Shume criticised municipal corruption and lack of service delivery, stating that repeated pleas for action on grass cutting and bridge repairs fell on deaf ears.
