Pedestrian Bridge Over Uhlanjana River
In June 2017, a national newspaper article highlighted the plight of more than 125 school children from the village of uMhlabuyalingana, KwaZulu-Natal who, due to a lack of transport, were forced to cross the Uhlanjana River every day on their way to school. Media reported that students had drowned while crossing, and the river also blocked access to the local medical clinic.
The affected municipalities formally requested the DBSA’s assistance, and a multi-disciplinary team was charged with finding sustainable solutions to assist the community, specifically the children with transport and access. This marked the beginning of a project that culminated in the construction of a pedestrian bridge.
To find a long-term solution, the DBSA took a collaborative approach entailing broad public participation with a diverse range of stakeholders, including the Jozini and uMhlabuyalingana local municipalities and the KwaZulu-Natal Departments of Transport and Education. The outcome of this consultative process was a unanimous decision to temporarily provide scholar transport and construct a steel pedestrian bridge over the Uhlanjana River.
The bridge and the temporary scholar transport provided helped to:
- Protect the lives and health of learners crossing the river on their way to school;
- Upscale the existing infrastructure delivery capacity of Jozini and uMhlabuyalingana local municipalities;
- Improve accessibility for local community members in the two municipalities to the nearby schools, the Madonela Clinic, and to other public facilities; and
- Improve the teaching and learning outcomes of basic education in the affected schools.
The construction of the bridge comprised three phases:
- Undertaking of a feasibility study, including an environmental study;
- Conducting a procurement process for the design of the pedestrian bridge; and
- Constructing the bridge.
Once again, numerous consultations and engagements were held with a diverse range of stakeholders including the community, school principals, teachers, school governing bodies, mayors, municipal managers and the Chief Financial Officers of the Jozini and uMhlabuyalingana local municipalities, representatives from the provincial departments of Education and Transport, as well as the chieftainship of the areas. The Chief in the Jozini area called an Imbizo to inform and gain the support of the community for the project.
Following a procurement process, a bus operator was appointed to transport 90 learners from Madonela Primary School and 118 from Mjindi High School to and from school in January 2019. This provision of safe transport services resulted in improved school attendance of learners as well as their improved academic performance.
The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic brought construction to a halt. In June 2020 when schools reopened, the CSI programme supported the learners by providing handwashing stations at the schools to ensure compliance with COVID-19 hygiene protocols. Additional buses were hired to allow for social distancing during learner transport. Provision was also made for more frequent cleaning and sanitisation of the buses. In addition, the DBSA funded the building of an isolation room at the nearby Madonela Clinic.
The construction of the bridge was completed in December 2021, and on 31 March 2022 it was officially handed over to the communities of kwaMadonela within the Mashabane and Siqatha Tribal Authorities situated in uMhlabuyalingana and Jozini local municipalities.
community members reached
learners impacted
for local community members in the two municipalities to the nearby schools, the Madonela Clinic, and to other public facilities
the teaching and learning outcomes of basic education in the affected schools
uMhlabuyalingana, KwaZulu-Natal