Operation Vala Zonke is focusing on potholes between Hazyview and Sabie

As Tourism Month approaches, the provincial MEC for public works, roads and transport, Mohita Latchminarain, has embarked with Sanral on an initiative to repair potholes on the R536 between Hazyview and Sabie, as part of Operation Vala Zonke.
Latchminarain said this operation is a countrywide campaign aimed at filling and repairing all potholes. This roads maintenance programme is a government initiative led by Sanral.

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“Mpumalanga is a popular tourist destination, which is why the initiative was launched in the province. It is an ongoing programme with emphasis on communities reporting potholes. We are going to monitor the implementation and assess the impact of the programme after six months. Mpumalanga will be pothole-free on all tourism routes this financial year,” she said.

During the launch on August 9, accompanied by the mayor of Mbombela, Sibongile Makushe-Mazibuko, she said Sanral has created an app for reporting potholes. It will allow those who download it to report potholes by taking photos and uploading them. The alert will immediately be captured and logged onto the Sanral system.

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Makushe-Mazibuko said that while celebrating Women’s Day, it is also important to address road conditions, especially on the tourism routes, as the tourism industry is still recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We believe that repairing the roads will benefit tourism in our province, especially the popular Panorama Route.”
She also said that the focus on fixing roads will not only benefit tourism routes, but that the plan is to ensure all roads within Mpumalanga are pothole-free and with the Sanral initiative, to change the current situation and make a difference.
She required all motorists to take advantage of the Sanral app and to report potholes, so that officials may attend to them.