Operation ‘Vala Zonke’ launched to plug SA's potholes

Transport minister Fikile Mbalula has announced a new programme to deal with the potholes across the country. It’s known as “Vala Zonke”, which is translated as “close all” in isiZulu.

The government has said it will target physical works including resealing, blacktop patching, pothole repairs and maintenance of gravel roads. Among projects authorities have committed to is the maintenance of about 20,000km of roads in SA’s secondary road network by March 2023.

These are provincial roads in urgent need of being upgraded to an acceptable state of repair. The transport department is supporting district municipalities with road infrastructure planning.

“The transport department has been hard at work intensifying interventions aimed at addressing challenges relating to road infrastructure with a comprehensive plan to address potholes across all spheres of government, with the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) leading the labour-intensive national project,” said Mbalula.

Part of the launch included the introduction of a new pothole web app which the public can use to report potholes in their vicinity. The app will allow the public to raise any issues (such as uploading pictures, details of the issue and get real-time location of the road where the issue is raised) on an interactive map that will show the owners of the different roads, as well as get status updates on issues raised using a pothole ticketing system.

Mbalula has blamed corruption and the lack of leadership for the state of SA’s roads.

Finance minister Enoch Godongwana recently said more than 150 municipalities are bankrupt or insolvent, with unfunded budgets the primary catalyst for financial distress.

The poor state of SA’s roads has been a political sparring point. Joburg executive mayor Mpho Phalatse had a heated Twitter exchange with former DA leader Tony Leon recently, with Leon saying: “Fix potholes, traffic lights and pavements. That, far more than strategic planning sessions, will win the allegiance of your voters.”

The country’s road infrastructure maintenance backlog is estimated to be more than R200bn and 40% of the provincial network is reported to have reached the end of its life cycle. It’s estimated that 80% of the national road network is now older than its 20-year design life, Mbalula added.

He said a shortage of skills and lack of funding continues to hinder the sector, though the City of Johannesburg public-private tie-up with Discovery Insure and Dial Direct has assisted greatly with the Pothole Patrol, and which continues its work to fix potholes alongside the new programme.