Sello Morake
MAFETENG — Two years after 13 people were washed away into Motsepe River in a flash-flood, villagers in Ha Khoete in Thabana Morena in Mafeteng, about 130 kilometres south of Maseru, can now heave a sigh of relief.
The deceased, who included 11 school children between the ages of nine and 13, were swept away into the raging waters on February 15, 2009.
The children were travelling in the back of an Isuzu truck after attending church services at St Michael’s Church in Ha Mofoka when disaster struck.
Of the 13 people who were in the truck, only two were lucky to survive.
The bodies of two children were never recovered leaving the families with no closure.
Government officials who spoke after the disaster had promised to build a bridge to avoid further loss of lives.
But that promise never materialised.
This time, however, villagers can now look forward to the future with hope.
Two years after the accident plans are now afoot to build a bridge across the dangerous Mots’epe River to connect villagers in Ha Mofoka and Ha Khoete.
The new bridge could go a long way in appeasing the villagers who literally dice with death when they cross the river during the rainy season.
World Vision, an international aid organisation, says it has secured funds to build a new bridge at the notorious spot that has claimed countless lives in the past.
World Vision area development programme manager, Habi Habi, told the Sunday Express recently that they had managed to secure funds from well-wishers in the United States for the project.
“The construction will start later this year,” Habi said.
“As a child-focused organisation we thought it wise to contribute to the community by building a bridge following the death of the school children.”
Habi said World Vision was fully committed to building the bridge so that people can be able to cross the river safely.
He said the horrific accident had left them shaken to the marrow leaving them with no option but to do something to avert future disasters.
The new bridge will be built at a cost of about M1.8 million.
Habi said the local community council and other stakeholders will also be heavily involved in the project.
“We approached the district administrator’s office with the proposal and they felt that the funds would be enough for the project,” Habi said.
He added that the bridge would be built as soon as a contractor has been identified, hopefully before the end of the year.
The community of Ha-Khoete and Ha-Mofoka would also be informed soon about this development, he said.
The district council secretary, ‘Mamotheba Mokhokhoba, acknowledged that villagers were travelling long distances to access basic essential services.
“People travel long distances to get to health services because there is no bridge,” Mokhokhoba says.
But she insisted that it was the responsibility of local MPs to push for such development projects.
“Local parliamentarians should have talked among themselves so that they could have prioritised the building of a bridge at Ha-Khoete,” she said.
‘Mamojalefa Ranchebe, a villager in Ha Khoete, said they were experiencing severe transport problems as taxi operators were refusing to ply gravel roads.
“Proper roads should be constructed to stop this suffering. Imagine the elderly and pregnant women having difficulty getting to seek health services,” Ranchebe said.
She said it was hard for her to trust politicians and government officials anymore as they always fail to keep their word.
“Ministers from Mafeteng have failed the people of Thabana-Morena.
“It is sad that those children had to die that Sunday afternoon because of a poor bridge,” Ranchebe said.
She said villages such as Mofoka, Ha-Khoete, Ha-Sechaba, Maqhatseng, Makhabane and Maseru should all be interconnected by tarred roads.
Mofoka Primary School principal, Laurentina Shelile, who has been teaching at the school since 1996, said the road accident had affected some of her students psychologically.
“One of the survivors was a bright student, but the accident has affected her badly.
“A day after the accident we had to go back and look for the missing children and this was quite traumatic for the pupil.”
Shelile said enrolment at her school had also suffered since the incident as parents now fear their children might also fall victim.
“The number of students has gone down from 180 to 154 because parents are fearful about what might happen to their children especially when it is raining,” she said.