Civil society tackles potholes because the state is failing

The civil rights organisation AfriForum believes that civil society, perforce, plays a greater role in the upkeep of road infrastructure because the political will to do so is lacking.

At the seventh conference of the South African Road Federation it was stated that the number of potholes on the country’s roads now stands at 25 million. This has increased by 10 million over the last five years.

According to Corné Cronje, manager of Community Structures at AfriForum, this organisation’s branches nationwide are fixing potholes on a weekly basis. “We started repairing potholes in 2014 and have since used around 2 000 tons of tar at a cost of R5,5 million. If this does not happen, the potholes, especially in the rural areas, will become even more and much bigger because this is the only work that is done on roads. In Potchefstroom and Bethal we are intensively fixing potholes and our Heidelberg branch has repaired 2 500 potholes so far in 2022.

“The root of this is the municipalities’ lack of maintenance. If they have proper maintenance plans and seal the roads properly, it will extend the life of the roads. Unfortunately, the infrastructure is so weakened that roads must be rebuilt in many places.”

However, he warns against the appointment of tenderpreneurs and the corruption that comes with it. “Qualified people must be used to build good quality roads that will last longer, but then maintenance must not be neglected.”

Cronje encourages communities to get involved with their local Afriforum branch, especially in the repair of potholes. “The will and the resources simply do not exist in the state to tackle this problem. That’s why the problem has taken on such terrifying proportions. We will have to roll up our sleeves ourselves and make a difference.”