Sanral unleashes war room against potholes: Here’s what you need to know

The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) launched the Vala Zonke War Room on Monday as part of the Transport Department’s pothole fixing efforts.  

Housed at Sanral’s Central Operations Centre in Centurion, the war room is a “one-stop” centre established to receive information regarding potholes, and to address them accordingly.

The minister of transport Sindisiwe Chikunga said the introduction of the Vala Zonke War Room is a “natural progression to ensure success in the war against potholes, following the launch of the Vala Zonke campaign nearly a year ago.”

Committed to campaign

“Through this war room, we are re-affirming government’s commitment to this campaign aimed at eradicating potholes across South Africa’s road network,” she said.

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Sanral’s CEO Reginald Damana said the war room is equipped to capture and report on all information uploaded via the pothole app by road users.

“The data captured will be important for Sanral to respond appropriately,” said Damana.

“For example, if we get recurring potholes in a specific area, that could be a sign there’s a need for a longer lasting solution – perhaps a redesign of the road to ensure it is suitable to current traffic needs,” he added.

Warning the public against taking matters into their own hands, Sanral Board’s Chairperson Themba Mhambi said the public is not allowed to fix potholes without permission from relevant authorities.

“The basic principle of a war room is to gather everyone responsible for carrying out the intervention by the Department of Transport, as directed by Cabinet, for road maintenance [and] refurbishment…,” Damana said.

Public must use app

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As part of the Vala Zonke initative, a reporting app was launched which the public can use to flag any potholes they might encounter.

“This is the start of a meticulously documented process flow that assists government in identifying the problem [while] simultaneously… holding various road authorities accountable to the people of South Africa,” Mhambi said.

Mhambi encouraged South Africans to continue reporting potholes through the pothole app.