‘Gatvol’ Middelburg farmers to the rescue after closed road kills their town

Residents of Middelburg in the Eastern Cape have fought a yearlong battle to have one of their arterial routes into the town reopened. Things finally came to a head in July when farmers took it upon themselves to make the road at least useable.

Their action brought life back to some of the struggling businesses in the Karoo town. It also put a spotlight on an abandoned R75-million project to build an integrated traffic control centre (ITCC) with a weighbridge at the intersection where Meintjies Street links to the N9. This would ensure better control of heavy freight trucks travelling through the town.

Meintjies Street runs through Middelburg. It is where the R56 national road begins and is one of the main routes into the town when entering from the north or east.

The Eastern Cape Department of Transport is at a crossroads: it needs additional funds and resources for minor roadworks to maintain what is now a stretch of dirt road, while the future of the beleaguered traffic centre project hangs in the balance.

While work on temporary maintenance was set to begin last week, teams on the ground have said they do not have the capacity for a long-term solution and will in all likelihood close this entrance to Middelburg again later this month.

The saga began early in 2024 when plans were set in motion to build the traffic control centre. Phase one came with a R75-million price tag.

The northern entrance to Meintjies Street was closed. For many motorists coming from the Northern Cape and Free State, Middelburg was a preferred rest and refuel stop on their way south. But many started skipping the detour into town, opting for towns like Graaff-Reinet or Nxuba because of the closed road.

Businesses felt the pressure, but they thought the slump would be temporary. However, in May 2024, after reports surfaced about disputes between the appointed contractor, the transport department and the Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality, the site was abandoned and the project ground to a halt. Middelburg was left with a torn-up road, heaps of gravel and road signs blocking entry to the town.

“The majority of our business fell away almost completely,” said Casper Erasmus, owner of Volkstud Motors, which includes a fuel station. “Much of our fuel sales come from tourists passing through town. But now people see the road is closed and they just drive past. It has been difficult.”

The business has been in his family since 1960 and his daughter is being trained to take over operations.

Erasmus had no figures at the ready, but he said the impact on his business and several others around town had been significant. “As much as 30% of our town’s traffic comes from the N9. The pharmacy nearby said they have seen a drop in sales, while the hotel’s bar and restaurant have also taken a knock.”

Restaurant and guesthouse owner Riaan van der Ryst said the latter survived because arrangements were made online and people honoured their bookings, but he noted a decline in business at his eatery, with fewer tourists popping in.

Erasmus and Van der Ryst said the road reopened for a short period in December 2024, which had a positive impact on their businesses. But by March it was closed again and traffic dwindled.

Concerns grew to the point where DA member of the provincial legislature Heinrich Muller wrote several letters asking for updates on the project. His most recent query in June is yet to receive a response. “What remains of the project is a dilapidated construction site, and the town’s main access route, Meintjies Street, has been rendered so hazardous that it has been closed to the public, severely impacting the local economy,” he wrote.

He also asked for details about the contractors appointed to the project, following many allegations about their ability to perform the task.

Ward 9 councillor Handri Vorster said her biggest concern was where the budget had gone, since R75-million was made available for phase one of the traffic control centre but there was nothing to show for it. “A few weeks ago some of the wind farm contractors staying in town opened a section of the road to facilitate movement. However, conditions were not conducive to normal traffic, and a bakkie ended up in a deep trench on the side of the road,” she said.

The situation finally led to a call to action by farmers in the region, who rallied to re­open the road. On 28 July, more than a year after it was closed for the first time, Stefan Erasmus and CJ Fouche, with a team of their workers, moved all the “closed” signs out of the way, levelled the road with gravel left behind by the contractors, and made it passable for the first time in months.

Fouche, who farms to the north of Middelburg, contacted Vorster in about May and told her he was “gatvol” (fed up) with taking detours into town and planned to take matters into his own hands. “She advised against it as the situation was still quite fluid at that stage. But as we expected then, nothing changed and we knew something had to be done.”

Stefan Erasmus said the farmers in the region were constantly at loggerheads with government officials over the maintenance of farm roads, so he agreed with Fouche that the only way Meintjies Street would become accessible was if they acted.

“We put out a call to some of the neighbouring farmers to assist and we simply arrived on the scene with some of our staff. Within minutes we had done what we could and traffic started moving again,” he said.

Transport department spokesperson Unathi Binqose said the farmers’ actions to open the road were “not ideal”, but the department understood their frustrations.

“The way the community went about re­opening the road was not quite to the correct standard, and as things stand now the department could be liable for any incidents on that road. But we have teams on the ground this week with graders to tie up loose ends and make the road driveable again.”

Binqose said delays to the ITCC project were the result of “red tape” that led to frustrations for the municipality and residents. Asked if any action would be taken against the farmers who had re­­opened the road, he had no response.

The department could also not provide any answers about the future plans of the multimillion-rand traffic control centre project.

Vorster reported that a grader and a water truck to keep the gravel wet and reduce dust were on site from Monday, 11 August. However, things were not looking up.

“The contractors indicated that they have only been assigned to this project for a week. After that they cannot remain on site and they will likely close the road, leaving us in the same boat we were before this whole episode with the farmers,” she said.

She added that officials from the local government office had said an emergency tender had been advertised for the road to be levelled and resealed, to make it safe and driveable, but no contracts had been awarded yet. DM