Helderberg College in Somerset West inaugurated a new road on its campus on Friday, in honour of the donor whose generosity made it possible.
According to Helderberg College president, Dr Vincent Injety, the staff and faculty of the college are no strangers to bad roads, and the annual maintenance budget seldom stretches to road upgrades and maintenance.
“Every year, we work our way down the list of maintenance items, and there is always so much to do on our buildings and infrastructure. Each time we stop short of the roads,” said Dr Injety, “until Dr Irvin Khosa heard of our plight and pledged R1 million.”
Dr Injety added that the generosity aside, there were no strings attached to the pledge. “Often donors have conditions, but Dr Khosa’s pledge came with no expectations.
“It took us a year to decide how to spend the money.”
Gesturing at the new blacktop roadway, renamed Dr Irvin Khosa Crescent in honour of the donor, Dr Injety said: “Those of you who know our campus will know what this road was like.
“It wasn’t a road, it was a way, and you can have a way in a forest. We know what it is like to travel on bad roads.”
The donation enabled the resurfacing of three sections of the principal road through the college campus; the section at the entrance and down to the dam, the section previously known as the Damascus Road, renamed for Dr Khosa, and the Disa Road.
After the presentation, Dr Khosa formally cut the ribbon to open the new road.
