The newly Constructed Nsimbakasi Bailey Bridge for the Community Umhlathuze under the Mthonjaneni Municipality.
The SA Army Engineer Formation achieves yet another milestone, constructing the Bailey Bridge for the Community of Umhlathuze, King Cebatshwayo in KwaZulu-Natal Province.
The bridge will enable accessibility for the community linking the villages, giving access to schools, and clinics and offering effortless mobility for the vehicles to cross over to nearby and far towns.
The community in attendance was overwhelmed with joy as they were singing and celebrated the launch of this anticipated bridge that is going to transform their livelihood for the better.
The bridge-building capability within the SA Army Engineer Formation under the command of General Officer Commanding Brigadier General Charles Buyse has brought so many tears of joy and hope to many communities in these rural areas.
Thirty-nine (39) field Sappers deployed together with some civilians since the inception of the project in April 2020, the team worked hard and tirelessly together.
The Minister of The Department of Defence, Ms Thandi Modise in her address mentioned that many rural villages of our country are cut off from service delivery points as a result of inaccessible roads, caused mainly by heavy rains and flooding. We have seen television images of primary school children risking their lives to cross flooded roads or rivers in order to reach their schools, and our senior citizens walking through dangerous waters in order to access health care services or their old-age pensions. As we deliver this bridge, we should have these citizens and those sad images in mind.
“Not too many South Africans are aware that beyond its constitutional mandate of protecting the territorial integrity of our country and safeguarding our country’s sovereignty, the Defence Force is also a service delivery machine. Today, working together with the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, we can safely assert that we have lifted a burden that used to weigh heavily on the shoulders of the people of Mthonjaneni”.
Lastly, the Minister thanked all the role players for the success of the project and further said that this is not the first nor the last bridge that is going to be constructed, there is more to come.
Article by Captain Lehutso Phahlamohlaka and Captain Tshegofatso Gwai and Photographs by: Sergeant Ezekiel Mpho Rantlhoatlhoa and Lance Corporal Sinaye Sikupela.
