Bridging the Divide: Two New Welisizwe Bridges Ready for Handover in Rural Ulundi

For the rural community of Mbimbini in northern KwaZulu-Natal, crossing a river will soon no longer be a daily gamble. Public Works and Infrastructure Deputy Minister Sihle Zikalala will on Monday hand over two completed Welisizwe bridges in the Ulundi Local Municipality, the latest milestone in one of government’s most practical rural infrastructure programmes.

The two bridges are located at Mbimbini, a rural settlement and traditional authority area within the Ulundi Local Municipality, SAnews reports.

A R3.3 Billion Promise Being Kept

The Welisizwe Rural Bridges Programme was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the 2023 State of the Nation Address, when government set aside R3.3 billion to roll out bridges across six provinces. The aim is simple and life-changing: to connect rural communities safely to schools, clinics, shops and work opportunities that rivers and streams have long cut off, especially in the rainy season.

In KwaZulu-Natal, the programme set a target of 51 bridges. To date, 41 have been completed, while a further 14 are currently under construction, keeping the province firmly on track.

More Than Steel and Concrete

Each Welisizwe bridge is a small structure with an outsized impact. For schoolchildren, it means no more missed classes when the water rises. For families, it means ambulances, delivery vehicles and taxis can reach the doorstep. For local economies, it means goods and people can move safely all year round.

The handover ceremony at Mbimbini will bring together several arms of the state. Joining Deputy Minister Zikalala will be Defence and Military Veterans Deputy Minister Richard Mkhungo, whose department’s engineers have been central to the programme’s delivery, along with Ulundi Local Municipality Speaker Senzosenkosi Buthelezi and other dignitaries.

The involvement of the Department of Defence and Military Veterans alongside Public Works reflects the programme’s distinctive delivery model, in which state capacity is pooled to get bridges built quickly and cost-effectively in terrain that private contractors often find difficult to reach.

Rural Infrastructure That Reaches People

The Welisizwe programme has become a standout example of what focused, well-targeted public investment can achieve in rural South Africa. Rather than waiting for large-scale projects that can take a decade to materialise, the programme delivers compact steel bridges where they are needed most, one river crossing at a time.

The choice of Mbimbini also matters. Traditional authority areas like this one are often the last to see infrastructure spending, and the sight of two completed bridges being formally handed to the community sends a clear signal that the programme is reaching the places it was designed for, not just the easy wins near main roads.

With 41 bridges already carrying foot and vehicle traffic across KwaZulu-Natal and more on the way, Monday’s handover at Mbimbini is another quiet but meaningful step towards a province where no community is left stranded on the wrong side of the river.

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