Road pothole crisis made worse by poor repairs

BAD WORKMANSHIP

- KAREN SINGH

SOUTH Africa’s road infrastructure, spanning about 750 000km and ranking as the tenth-longest road network globally, battles a significant pothole crisis exacerbated by inadequate workmanship.

The issue undermines road safety and imposes a heavy financial burden on taxpayers, motorists, and the government.

The SA National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) manages about 21 403km of paved roads, provinces manage about 204830km of paved and unpaved roads, and municipalities manage roughly 292 207km of paved and unpaved roads. Pothole repairs are estimated to cost between R700 and R1500 per square metre, based on Transport Department data.

In 2022, the government launched Operation Vala Zonke, to eliminate potholes. It is spearheaded by the Transport Department and implemented by Sanral. The programme is facilitated through the freely available Vala Zonke mobile app, which can be used to report and geotag potholes around the country. Teams can then be dispatched for repairs.