Residents of Swartkops in Gqeberha are calling for the metro to clamp down on heavy vehicles using the Wylde Bridge. (Photo: Deon Ferreira) 
A hard-won community victory to save Gqeberha’s oldest bridge has stalled amid allegations of a protection racket.
In November last year communities living around the historic Wylde Bridge joined forces to campaign for the restoration of the bridge.
They urged the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality to upgrade the entrance and exit points on the bridge to prevent trucks from using it.
Their protests and petitions paid off when the metro awarded a contract for barriers to be put up on both sides of the bridge and for maintenance.
The Wylde Bridge over the Swartkops River connects Amsterdamhoek and Swartkops. It was opened in September 1879 and is Gqeberha’s oldest bridge.
Read more: Residents save oldest bridge in Gqeberha as protest and pleas finally pay off
It was initially refurbished in 2016 and painted in bright colours, each representing a burning issue, such as HIV/Aids, environmental awareness and saving water. As a result it became known in Gqeberha as the “Smartie Bridge”.
However, during the refurbishment, the crossbars that imposed a height restriction for vehicles — as the bridge has a 5-tonne weight restriction and cannot be used by big trucks — were removed and never replaced.
Without the barriers, trucks started using the bridge again and damaging it, while the balustrades were damaged by accidents and vandalism.
After an intensive campaign by the community and local councillor Annette Lovemore, the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality awarded a R2.3-million contract to repair the bridge and install new restrictive barriers.
However, work on the bridge has come to a standstill because a “local business forum” has, according to residents in the area, demanded protection fees of 10% and that 30% of the work be awarded to them.
Lovemore said she had written to Nelson Mandela Bay’s acting city manager, Ted Pillay, to address the situation, but had not received a response.
“I understand that the critical work on the Wylde Bridge has repeatedly been delayed by SMMEs demanding protection money totalling apparently 10% of the contract value,” Lovemore wrote in an email to Pillay.
“This is extortion, which is a common-law crime in South Africa. I hope we have laid charges against the responsible SMMEs in respect of this extortion.
“We simply cannot tolerate the construction mafia dictating their terms and halting crucial infrastructural work. In this case, the bridge in question has a 5-ton weight limit. The contract awarded by the municipality will allow restrictive barriers to be erected to prevent large, heavy vehicles from using the bridge and potentially impacting upon its structural integrity.
“This is not a nice-to-have. It is about saving lives which might be lost if the bridge collapses under the repeated strain of heavy vehicles crossing.”
Yolisa Pali, the Mayoral Committee Member for roads and transport, told Lovemore that she had asked officials to attend to the situation.
The municipality’s communications director, Sithembiso Soyaya, said he was still awaiting answers from officials. DM