eMalahleni mayor just the latest victim of notorious pothole-riddled road

The condition of one of Mpumalanga’s most notorious roads, the R544, has come under the spotlight once again, after the eMalahleni mayor, her husband, and the lone occupant of a second vehicle were killed in a horrific crash this weekend.

Mayor Linah Malatjie and her husband Esau Malatjie were travelling on the road between Gemsbokspruit and Verena when their SUV collided with a double cab bakkie around 21:30 on Sunday evening.

Pothole-riddled death-trap

The road is prone to head-on collisions, particularly at night. This has been continuously blamed on potholes but very little has been done to improve its condition.

It is yet not clear which vehicle was travelling in the wrong lane but, according to regular users of the road, the other vehicle must have swerved into the oncoming lane to avoid potholes.

Truck driver Doctor Motsumi said he is almost certain that the accident was as a result of potholes, as he has seen many head-on collisions happen and was involved in one himself two years ago.

“Most accidents on this road happen at night. Not only potholes but the road is also narrow, with stray animals, making a very dangerous driving at night. Many people have died in horrific crashes, mostly head-on collisions as drivers navigate around potholes,” he said.

The R544 begins at the intersection with the R35 near Bethal and ends at its junction with the R573 near Kwaggafontein in the Thembisile Hani municipality.

Khawula Mahlangu, who drives a taxi between Verena and eMalahleni, is on the R544 at least four times a day.

“About two months ago we had to pull passengers out of a burning vehicle after it collided with a tipper truck. The cause of the collision was potholes. The driver of the sedan had swerved onto the oncoming lane to avoid hitting large potholes on their lane and slammed onto the truck,” he said.

Mahlangu said maybe authorities will improve the condition of the road now that it has claimed the life of a local mayor, saying the potholes were caused by trucks ferrying coal from eMalahleni.

An amazing leader

A teacher by profession, Malatjie, who has been the eMalahleni local municipality mayor since 2018, cut her political teeth in the trade union sector and has served as the South African Democratic Teachers Union’s (SADTU) Education Convenor and Gender Convenor for the Greater Highveld Region.

Condolences have poured in for the third executive mayor to die in a car recently, with transport minister Fikile Mbalula saying this accident was yet another tragic death on the roads since the start of the festive season.

South African Local Government Association (SALGA) said Malatjie, who said served as a member of its Mpumalanga provincial executive committee (PEC), was an amazing and inspirational leader.

Mayors and accidents

In September, Johannesburg metro executive mayor Jolidee Matongo was killed when his BMW X5 was involved in a head-on collision with a Nissan NP200 bakkie, whose driver was also killed, on the Golden Highway, near Lenasia.

In October, Naledi Local Municipality Mayor Neo Schalk was killed when his vehicle was involved in a head-on collision on the N14 just outside Vryburg in North West.

siphom@citizen.co.za