There is a fundamental relationship between mobility, a country's socioeconomic standing, and the wellbeing of its citizens. We live in a mobile world characterised by the movement of people and goods, carried by interconnected transport systems and complex supply chains, all intended to operate seamlessly to give effect to the notion of a network industry.
Improving transport and its infrastructure bolsters economic opportunities and essential services, addresses the needs of road users, and generates forward momentum to our ideal of a better life for all our people. Conversely, when our mobility is disrupted, the impact is immediate, and this becomes a trigger for citizens’ discontent. The multitude of potholes that have come to characterise large parts of our road network across the country have become just such a trigger – and understandably so.
Potholes are like a canary in the coal mine. Having been used to detect dangerous gases in the bowels of the earth, potholes are a warning signal about the dire state of our roads infrastructure. When left unattended, they have a profound effect on our daily lives, affecting our safety and mental wellbeing. But beyond safety concerns and our immediate personal frustration, the impact also has far-reaching economic consequences.
Professor Wynand Steyn, head of the department of civil engineering at the University of Pretoria, stated, “Poorly maintained roads add to vehicle operating costs by pushing up your fuel and maintenance costs.” He pointed out that well-maintained roads affected the economy directly through savings on transportation and logistics costs and ultimately “creating a higher quality of life for people”.
In SA, road transport is vital as it accounts for 87% of all freight and 93% of all passenger movements. Our economic development and our society’s upliftment depend on the maintenance of the 750,000km road network, which includes national, provincial and municipal roads. Our road network has long been regarded as one of the key drawcards for foreign investors, who require the reliable and safe transportation of their goods across the country and into the subregion. While certain portions of the road network are world class and meet the highest international standards, this is far from being the case across the board.
Repairing potholes to improve the quality of our road network has therefore become critical. While this is a pervasive challenge, we are encouraged by a number of laudable initiatives already under way in a number of provinces. Potholes will also never be wholly eradicated as they are a symptom of ageing road surfaces, worsened by poor maintenance. However, by working together with our citizens and through partnerships between public and private sector entities, we can reduce the number of potholes.
We are launching the national pothole campaign, a programme to fix and prevent potholes on the country’s roads. This campaign will be led by the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral), fostering collaboration across all spheres of government and co-ordinating the pooling of expertise and resources to fill all potholes. We aim to create well-engineered, regularly maintained road surfaces using quality materials, while pursuing more robust maintenance strategies.
As part of this, Sanral will launch two related apps: the Sanral road authority app and the Sanral public app. The first is for the authorities to record existing potholes, assign maintenance teams and track the repairs of the identified potholes. The second will enable the public to report potholes on any road in SA.
As the custodian of the national road network and given the magnitude of the pothole problem, Sanral will provide leadership as the co-ordinator of the national pothole campaign and has been mandated to work with provincial and local governments.
We recognise that preventive maintenance is vital in successfully dealing with the pothole problem, and that delaying maintenance is a costly exercise. SA’s road infrastructure is a precious asset, and we must take responsibility for preserving it and expanding it in response to urban growth and the country’s socioeconomic development needs. The road network is a key determinant in our government’s capacity to deliver essential services to the people.
As government, we are determined to continue maintaining SA's road infrastructure assets, a key tenet of our strategy that underpins the national pothole campaign.
- Mbalula is minister of transport
Government committed to ridding SA roads of potholes
Sanral spearheading national campaign
There is a fundamental relationship between mobility, a country's socioeconomic standing, and the wellbeing of its citizens. We live in a mobile world characterised by the movement of people and goods, carried by interconnected transport systems and complex supply chains, all intended to operate seamlessly to give effect to the notion of a network industry.
Improving transport and its infrastructure bolsters economic opportunities and essential services, addresses the needs of road users, and generates forward momentum to our ideal of a better life for all our people. Conversely, when our mobility is disrupted, the impact is immediate, and this becomes a trigger for citizens’ discontent. The multitude of potholes that have come to characterise large parts of our road network across the country have become just such a trigger – and understandably so.
Potholes are like a canary in the coal mine. Having been used to detect dangerous gases in the bowels of the earth, potholes are a warning signal about the dire state of our roads infrastructure. When left unattended, they have a profound effect on our daily lives, affecting our safety and mental wellbeing. But beyond safety concerns and our immediate personal frustration, the impact also has far-reaching economic consequences.
Professor Wynand Steyn, head of the department of civil engineering at the University of Pretoria, stated, “Poorly maintained roads add to vehicle operating costs by pushing up your fuel and maintenance costs.” He pointed out that well-maintained roads affected the economy directly through savings on transportation and logistics costs and ultimately “creating a higher quality of life for people”.
In SA, road transport is vital as it accounts for 87% of all freight and 93% of all passenger movements. Our economic development and our society’s upliftment depend on the maintenance of the 750,000km road network, which includes national, provincial and municipal roads. Our road network has long been regarded as one of the key drawcards for foreign investors, who require the reliable and safe transportation of their goods across the country and into the subregion. While certain portions of the road network are world class and meet the highest international standards, this is far from being the case across the board.
Repairing potholes to improve the quality of our road network has therefore become critical. While this is a pervasive challenge, we are encouraged by a number of laudable initiatives already under way in a number of provinces. Potholes will also never be wholly eradicated as they are a symptom of ageing road surfaces, worsened by poor maintenance. However, by working together with our citizens and through partnerships between public and private sector entities, we can reduce the number of potholes.
We are launching the national pothole campaign, a programme to fix and prevent potholes on the country’s roads. This campaign will be led by the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral), fostering collaboration across all spheres of government and co-ordinating the pooling of expertise and resources to fill all potholes. We aim to create well-engineered, regularly maintained road surfaces using quality materials, while pursuing more robust maintenance strategies.
As part of this, Sanral will launch two related apps: the Sanral road authority app and the Sanral public app. The first is for the authorities to record existing potholes, assign maintenance teams and track the repairs of the identified potholes. The second will enable the public to report potholes on any road in SA.
As the custodian of the national road network and given the magnitude of the pothole problem, Sanral will provide leadership as the co-ordinator of the national pothole campaign and has been mandated to work with provincial and local governments.
We recognise that preventive maintenance is vital in successfully dealing with the pothole problem, and that delaying maintenance is a costly exercise. SA’s road infrastructure is a precious asset, and we must take responsibility for preserving it and expanding it in response to urban growth and the country’s socioeconomic development needs. The road network is a key determinant in our government’s capacity to deliver essential services to the people.
As government, we are determined to continue maintaining SA's road infrastructure assets, a key tenet of our strategy that underpins the national pothole campaign.
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