The gravel road between Air Force Base (AFB) Makhado and Madombidzha is one of the roads that may be considered for tarring.

"Although it is a function of the Vhembe District Municipality to tar roads, the Makhado Municipality has prioritised eight roads to be tarred and the AFB/Madombidzha Road is one of them," Mr Masindi Mapholi, the municipality’s Director: Technical Services, said on May 22.

The base was established in 1987 as the Louis Trichardt Air Force Base, but in 2003 the name was changed to AFB Makhado. The base houses the fighter forces of the South African Air Force and its location near the northern border of the country is strategic in controlling the airspace.

AFB Makhado is an economic centre with a running budget of more than R100million per year. The other economic centre within the borders of the Makhado Municipality is Louis Trichardt. When the two centres are linked with a tar road which excludes travelling along the N1, travelling time will be reduced.

The Makhado mayor, Cllr Gloria Mashaba, has included the tarring of the AFB/Madombidzha Road in her application to the MEC for Roads and Transport.

"We have followed the procedure and the Department will take cognisance of the request and we are waiting for the allocation of MEC Justice Pitso. We expect the road to be tarred as quickly as it can be possible," Mapholi said.