Motorists incur unexpected costs due to potholes

It’s no longer a surprise to residents that Potchefstroom has an abundance of potholes, but that doesn’t mean it gets any less frustrating, especially when it affects their pockets.

Olebogeng Matlwa, who moved to Potch last year to study, says he expected to come across Potholes but is shocked by just how bad they are. Originally from Johannesburg, the 27-year-old says he would’ve probably thought twice about borrowing his dad’s car had he known just how bad the roads this side are.

“My dad made sure to emphasize how the car is his prized possession and that I should take care of it like it’s my own,” Matlwa said.

“One mistake and it’s on you, is how he ended the conversation,” he added. Matlwa says he didn’t take his dad too seriously until he hit a massive pothole on the corner of Esselen and President street a few days ago and wrecked the rim.

“I called my dad to explain what had happened and to my surprise he told me I was responsible for the costs,” he said. “I drive on this road to campus every day, I am a responsible driver, and now I am liable for a cost that could have been avoided. The roads need to be fixed, it’s simple,” Matlwa lamented.

He adds that the municipality is obliged to pay the cost of vehicle repairs from potholes but he won’t even bother to fight it because he knows the claims process involves lengthy paperwork, long waiting periods and subject to certain preconditions only to lead to a dead end of receiving no help.

“This road is the worst I have ever driven on,” Matlwa said.“I am grateful to not have been involved in an accident but this is unnecessary,” he added. “The roads are very bad, and we have a big pothole problem which really affects us as motorists. Commuting from work to home is a big issue that we hope the municipality will be able to resolve as a matter of urgency,” he concluded.

In a previous article, five months ago, related to potholes, the acting municipal manager of communication, Jeanette Tshite, said for past financial years, the municipality has made provisions in the budget to construct new roads and reseal and rehabilitate existing roads.

“The pothole patching programme has also been an ongoing maintenance programme of the municipality,” she said.

At the time, 33 service providers had been appointed, and 66 local SMMEs and approximately 165 labourers had already assumed their allocated sites, to fix roads throughout J.B Marks and added that another three contractors were appointed to start upgrading the critical roads identified. It has been a few months since the “road project” and it only seems that it is yet to show significant improvement.