Civil rights organisation AfriForum has spent over R1.5 million in 2024 thus far on repairing potholes across South Africa’s tattered roads.
The group set itself a goal of spending at least R1 million on repairing potholes over the entirety of the year, and by the end of July, it found that it had already surpassed this target by 50%.
“Although AfriForum branches repair potholes year-round, in July the focus is specifically on doing even more to renovate roads and make them safer,” said Corné Cronjé, manager of Community Structures at AfriForum.
“We challenge our branches to repair more potholes each year or use more tar to do so. The decline of municipalities has accelerated over the past few years and if we don’t roll up our sleeves to make a difference, the problems will only multiply.”
Over 15,700 bags of tar used
The central district, which includes the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and North West provinces, was responsible for the bulk of the pothole repairs among AfriForum branches in the first half of 2024.
By July, these provinces had used a combined 13,200 bags of tar to rehabilitate the roads, accounting for R1.2 million of the organisation’s entire pothole expenditure.
Meanwhile, the northern region repaired R230,850 worth of potholes from January to July this year, totaling 2,565 bags, or 64.13 tonnes, of tar.
Not only were these road hazards filled up again by AfriForum, but its members also repainted road signs that had faded off the curbs.
AfriForum entered into a cooperation agreement with the Tshwane metro as well as several other municipalities this year to perform certain services such as cutting grass, cleaning, and picking up rubbish from streets and sidewalks.
It plans to set up more neighborhood teams in other “anchor” regions in the near future to expand its services across the country.
The organisation states that it will continue to ramp up its pothole-repairing initiative through the help of these South African communities.
“This project has shown once again what we can achieve if we work together. By joining hands and combining our resources, we made a tangible difference,” said Jurie Ferreira, AfriForum’s District Coordinator on the East Rand.
“We look forward to continuing this important work and invite all residents to participate in future projects.”
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