Vryheid and its ongoing ‘holy’ fight

Excuses… excuses… excuses… That’s how Ward Councillor Magda Viktor describes the current situation regarding the ongoing battle against potholes all over town. Utrecht Street was rehabilitated in 2016 and last year the municipality had the rehabilitation of Mark and President streets in the budget. Up until now, the general consensus is that these streets are still the worst two roads to drive on. Cllr Viktor says she has been fighting to get these two streets fixed for six years already. About two weeks ago, Cllr Viktor addressed the worst potholes in West Street by measuring the ‘craters’. A few days later, the potholes ‘grew’ even bigger. She says the filling of potholes is a concern, because the holes in the road surface are only filled with sand that washes out again. On the way to Sasko, a resident ‘lost’ two tyres because of the said potholes. This is only one of many incidents where vehicles have been damaged by potholes. According to information received by the newspaper, the funds that are allocated by government towards the maintenance of infrastructure in towns rolls over to other projects and is not used for what it’s earmarked for. “The potholes are not fixed according to standards. They (municipality) only seem to put a piece of tar over a hole, without the proper preparation and aftercare to create sustainable repairs for traffic,” Cllr Viktor continued. “People are not allowed to fix a pothole in front of their property. The problem is that when someone gets injured at one of these potholes, you as a private person are culpable for the person’s injury and the municipality will not accept the responsibility. In Tshwane, there is currently an ongoing case where a person got injured by a pothole that was fixed by a resident,” Cllr Viktor concluded.

Residents identify potholes across town on the Herald’s Facebook page:

“Going past Cecil Emmet to the industrial area, there are deep potholes and cars are seen driving on the wrong side of the road to avoid these potholes. Also in Jan Moolman Street there are big potholes.”

“President Street. And the worst one is at the robot in Mark Street.”

“South Street, West Street, High Street, and the list goes on.”

“Landrostreet exit of Kentucky – bad potholes.”

“Corner of President and South Street.”

“Please look at South Street coming up from Karnalie; it is so difficult to see those holes in the morning, driving into the sun…”

“Heeren Street. Lots of potholes.”

“Mason Street, between Boeren and Afrikaner Street.”

“In Utrecht Street by VHS, as you turn to go out to Paulpietersburg.”

“Leaving Vryheid towards Hlobane near Bhekizulu.”

“Sasko area. Corner of Jan Moolman Street and Industrial Road. The business area and a school in the area. The potholes are dangerous.”

“Corner of Landdros and Kommissie streets, big ones.”

These are just a few of the worst potholes that residents have identified.

This begs the question of who is responsible for the repairs to a vehicle that is damaged by a pothole. In 2020, Transport Minister Fikile Mbulula admitted in a written parliamentary question-and-answer session that government was paying millions to South Africans for damage caused by potholes. An attorney from Johannesburg says that when negligence can be proved, government can and has been held responsible for loss of life, damage to property, and emotional distress. Claims are made through the Road Accident Fund (RAF).

Councillor Viktor has declared a ‘war’ against potholes and she advises anyone who has damage to their vehicle due to a pothole to submit a quotation of the damage to the Financial Department of the municipality. Once again, no response from the municipality had been received at the time of going to print.

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