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The DA in Limpopo has written to the MEC for Transport & Community Safety, Florence Radzilani, to request reasons for the lack of management and poor state of the Rathoke Weighbridge facility in Ephraim Mokgale Local Municipality.

During a recent oversight several challenges were highlighted:

• Inhumane working conditions for 30 officials including an infestation of bees, shortage of office space, only 2 toilets and no running water due to the lack of infrastructure maintenance;
• There is no back-up generator during loadshedding which results in many trucks passing through without being weighed;
• No speed bumps and lack of signage to prepare truckers to slow down which results in unnecessary accidents.

Rathoke weighbridge weighs more than 10 000 trucks per year.

During loadshedding trucks cannot be weighed and just pass through.

Overloaded trucks cause 60% of all damage to road surfaces, which can be avoided if all preventative measures are optimally utilised.

Overloaded vehicles further threaten road safety and contribute to many of the fatal accidents on our roads.

Loadshedding is here to stay and with the festive season upon us, the carnage on our roads will increase with more overloaded trucks on our roads.

We request MEC Radzilani to promptly intervene to ensure that Rathoke weighbridge is equipped with a generator and that working conditions for officials are improved.

Issued by Katlego Suzan Phala MPL - DA Provincial Spokesperson on Transport and Community Safety