Barely a month after two bridges were officially opened in Vhembe, one of them is now closed for traffic, while one is partly operational and workers are still busy with construction.

The multimillion-rand Thathe Vondo and Khalavha bridges, which collapsed two years ago, were constructed last year. The collapse of the two bridges adversely affected commuters from the Nzhelele area and those in the Thohoyandou area, as they were cut off from each other.

The bridges were opened prematurely towards the end of last year by Roads and Transport MEC Pinkie Kekana.

To the dismay of the communities, it later emerged that the bridges had been opened, even though it was clear that they were not complete. The closure of the bridges had left the local communities furious and they are now pointing an accusing finger at the MEC, whom they labelled as a "charmer who just wanted to capture the confidence of the people."

Others feel their lives have been put at risk by letting them drive across incomplete structures that could collapse.

After an outcry from the community, Mirror conducted an investigation, which revealed that  the Thathe Vondo bridge was indeed completely closed to traffic and construction workers were at the site, busy with construction. Engineers and the contractor were at the site, assessing the work which still needed to be done.

At the Khalavha bridge, only one lane of the road was in operation, as construction workers were still busy working at the site. Both bridges run the risk of collapse if it should rain, as the soil on both sides of the road is not supported.

A member of Cope in the provincial legislature, Tshilidzi Ravhuanzwo, described Kekana as a "reckless leader, who does not care for the lives of the people of Vhembe" for opening the two bridges prematurely.

“Kekana has total disregard for people’s lives. How can a right-minded person open a bridge which she knows could put people’s lives at risk? What if the bridge had collapsed and killed people?” asked Ravhuanzwo.

“These people have failed the province and they are now putting the lives of the people in danger in the name of service delivery. We are not going to let this matter die down without scrutiny; we will take up the matter in the legislature,” said a fuming  Ravhuanzwo.

A spokesperson for the Department of Roads and Transport, Thesan Moodley, denied that the bridges were incomplete but confirmed that the Khalavha bridge was using only one lane while workers completed the finishing touches. He also confirmed that the Thate Vondo bridge was completely closed, as workers are still on site.

On the issue of opening both of them at the same time, even though there was some work still to be done, Moodley said: ”It would have been more costly for the MEC to open one bridge and come back and open another. The MEC had to make a token opening to save costs,” said Moodley.