Ramaphosa Commends The Defence Force In Building Bridges
Written by Mduduzi Phungula on 1 February, 2024
By: Sthulile Mdletshe
President Cyril Ramaphosa has applauded the South African National Defence Force for lending a hand in the building of 134 Welisizwe bridges in six provinces.
The R3.3 billion project was announced by Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation address last year as government’s initiative aimed at addressing the backlog of bridges infrastructure in rural and disadvantaged communities.
The Welisizwe Rural Bridges Programme was initiated to respond to emergency situations in relation to river crossings.
This follows the disastrous floods that destroyed various parts of KZN in April 2022, killed hundreds of people, and left many homeless while destroying infrastructure.
Speaking at Ngilanyoni sports grounds in Mkhambathini ward 7 in the Midlands Ramaphosa says so far, 50% of the bridges have been completed with the Defence Army providing assistance with regards to construction vehicles, and construction machine operators, where necessary.
