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WATCH: South Africa needs a minister of potholes
The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) last year said the country’s roads had an estimated 25 million potholes.
Potholes have become a serious problem across the country. Picture: iStock
Now that South Africa has a minister of electricity to deal with the energy crisis, President Cyril Ramaphosa should have also appointed a minister of potholes to deal with the country’s disastrous road surfaces.
Potholes have become a serious problem in several parts across the country, causing extensive damage to cars.
Millions of potholes
The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) last year, said the country’s roads had an estimated 25 million potholes, around seven million more than the estimated households in the country.
The number was also 10 million more than reported in 2017, an increase of 67% in five years.
In August last year, the Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula rolled out Vala Zonke, what the department of transport called a 16-month labour intensive programme, spearheaded by the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral), to address potholes in the country.
ALSO READ: Gauteng residents take initiative to repair ‘dangerous’ potholes
However, the craters still pop up everywhere.
There are so many craters on the road surface and they are so deep, that if you hit them, it takes you through a black hole to another dimension, perhaps an alternate South Africa.
Potholes have become life threatening
In January, a father raised concerns about his son almost drowning in a massive crater in Rustenburg, in the North West.
In a video which was posted on Twitter, a young boy can be seen immersing a stick into the abyss to determine the depth of the massive crater which showed that it could cause serious damages or injuries.
Blame game
Sanral blamed inadequate maintenance by administering authorities for the pothole situation in the country and this may be the motivation Ramaphosa needs to appoint a new minister of potholes.
The holey man’s main task will be to ensure that road surfaces are free from potholes which have become a dodging video game to the tune of Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario
Last year, a KwaZulu-Natal mother’s video showing vehicles dodging potholes went viral.
Amy-Lee Theron and her family were driving along the R26 from Ficksburg towards Fouriesburg in the Free State when she recorded the video.
She added the Super Mario Bros theme song to the video which made it hilarious.
“Look at the cars in front of us. We are dodging potholes for our lives because it is safer to drive on the opposite side of the road than it is to hit a pothole,” she adds.
Johannesburg Emergency Management Services’ Robert Mulaudzi has also raised his hand for a minister to be appointed to deal with the unsightly craters, sharing his sentiments on Facebook.
“Since we have Minister of Electricity, we need a Minister of Potholes also am raising my hand,” he posted.
ALSO READ: WATCH: Man claims son almost drowned in massive pothole
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