An amount of more than R300 million would be needed to rebuild roads and bridges damaged by heavy rains that fell in January in many parts of Limpopo.

This was announced by the Minister of Transport, Mr Ben Martins, last week during a visit to Vhembe as part of a provincial flood-disaster assessment.

Some of the roads and bridges in Limpopo, especially in the Vhembe, were severely damaged during last month’s heavy rains. More than 20 people in Limpopo were said to have died as a result of the heavy rains.

“We are visiting the sites and inspecting the levels of damage caused by the floods. We understand some communities were left divided from their villages and pupils in some parts of the province could not go to school because the bridges were swept away,” Martins said. He added that some temporary measures had been put in place. According to him, makeshift bridges are not safe and he urged the government to repair the damage soon.