One of the key areas in which the citizens have been let down is the state of the country's roads. Riddled with potholes, getting from point a to b can quickly become a life-threatening endeavour for some South Africans.
Image: Xolile Mtembu
Service delivery, the process of providing essential services to the public is one of the basic tenets of governance.
It is a mandatory exercise that includes infrastructure development, clean water, waste management, health care and education.
Yet, for the South African government, this most rudimentary of tasks is often met with resistance, corruption and claims of insufficient funds. So, the people are forced to make do with increasingly depreciating services.
These failures point to an indifferent state at best and a failing one worst. One of the key areas in which the citizens have been let down is the state of the country's roads. Riddled with potholes, getting from point a to b can quickly become a life-threatening endeavour for some South Africans.
The failure to maintain roads, resulting in deteriorated surfaces, can lead to accidents. Large potholes may force motorists to drive on the wrong side of the road, lose control of their vehicles, or swerve unexpectedly.
Kirstie Haslam, the director of DSC Attorneys who specialise in personal injury and road accident claims said: "Slippery surfaces and loose gravel can cause cars to skid, especially during panic braking. Poor road maintenance can also cause significant damage to vehicles.
"Uneven surfaces and potholes can dent wheel rims and can cause undue wear to suspension, alignment, tyres and shocks. Prolonged driving on uneven surfaces can also lead to fluid leaks from the engine."
Similar to the holes on the road, potholes dig into the pockets of South Africans.
Master Builders SA estimated that the pothole repair costs range is between R700 and R1,500 per square metre. That is a significant amount to pour onto the ground. In 2023, the Department of Transport also reportedly spent a staggering of R3.65 billion in 2023 attempting to fix the country's road.
Yet, the job is far from done.
Financial services company Santam recorded that pothole-related claims soared by 40% in comparison to the entirety of 2022. Santam said that the average cost of a pothole-related insurance claim ranged between R20,000 and R25,000.
Claims at this level are typically the consequence of a significant hit with a pothole and entail the replacement of two or more tires, repairs to bent rims, and, on occasion, suspension refurbishment.
"Those costs can add up, and of course, with inflation as well, we see that those costs are increasing over time," said Santam's head of commercial underwriting, Thabo Twalo.
Additionally, in 2023, the transport ministry recorded KwaZulu-Natal as having the most potholes in the country at 500,000, followed by Gauteng at 213,321 and Mpumalanga with 141,186.
Here is what was recorded for the rest of the provinces:
Limpopo - 139,925
Eastern Cape - 112,286
North West - 94,996
Western Cape - 46,052
Free State - 20,000
Change rarely comes and it does, it is due to service delivery protests where South Africans have to plead for the government to do its job and fulfil the many promises fed to people during elections which include service delivery.
In February of 2025, hundreds of people from a Limpopo village took to the streets to protest unbearable potholes.
In the Roads Agency Limpopo's 2021/2022 Annual Performance Plan, R46 million was set aside for the maintenance of the D4 road between Elim to Malamulele.
According to department spokesman Luyanda Sithole, the R46 million was utilised to finish Phases 1 and 2, which covered around 46 kilometres of road. However, the majority of the road remains incomplete, and there is presently no cash earmarked to complete it.
"When additional budget allocations are received, the Roads Agency Limpopo will proceed with completing the remaining sections. In the interim, Public Works will continue patching potholes and creating bypasses to maintain safe access," said Sithole.
Ayanda Allie of BuildOne South Africa (BOSA) and MP recently claimed that Emfuleni Municipality has been far from successful is developing its road which are in a shocking state.
"Emfuleni it's safer to drive on the gravel than to drive on the tar road because there is not tar... I'm shocked that motorists have to zig zag to avoid the pothole and drive on the gravel. Accidents must occur all the time here. The cars have to duck and dive offroad. This is the true state of the province," she said.
Back in 2022 IOL reported on the M37, a section of road that connects KwaMakhutha township to the R603 in Adams Mission in KwaZulu-Natal, numerous men would get up at daybreak every day to patch potholes with sand and soil for money.
This, not an uncommon occurrence in the country as people have to rely on themselves instead of the government. During morning and evening traffic, they dragged wheelbarrows and shovels to the middle of the road and begged passing vehicles for any coin they could spare for their job.
"This is a poor area that is mostly populated by black people, so it is no wonder that the government left us to our devices for so long. I have been driving through here for many years now and know this road like the back of my hand. But the potholes have a mind of their own and just pop up anywhere," Mandla Khathi said.
This was once of the most potholed-riddled stretches of road in the West Coast of the province. However, it has since been repaired.
This was once of the most potholed-riddled stretches of road in the West Coast of the province. However, it has since been repaired.
Image: Xolile Mtembu
Yet, when important political event take place, a facade of efficiency is seemingly put on for foreigners. This is the case with the G20 summit which is set to take place from 22 to 23 November in Johannesburg.
Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero reportedly committed to prioritise patching potholes and fixing malfunctioning traffic lights ahead of the G20, a statement which he has rescinded.
"We have prioritised certain routes within Johannesburg which are G20 routes to ensure that at least we can make them to be at the standard they should be... No potholes, no traffic signals that are not working, so we are focusing on that. But we are generally focusing on the infrastructure issue," he said.
So, the government seemingly cares about foreign leaders leering at the country's despicable roads while citizens are left to languish in the poor service delivery. What will it take to prioritised the citizens?
IOL