South African entrepreneur says no more to potholes and broken traffic lights

Local entrepreneur Garth Japhet has founded a new website called Fixlocal, which aims to bring an end to poor service delivery across South Africa.

Fixlocal helps citizens find out how to report issues in their region such as potholes and broken traffic lights.

Japhet explains that it’s often very difficult for residents to report these things as it’s not always clear who one must contact to do so, a problem that Fixlocal intends to solve.

“Sometimes it’s about 10 ways to report it, we’ll give you the one that’s most likely to help you,” he told Newzroom Afrika.

The team as Fixlocal has spent over a year calling numbers and visiting offices to ensure they know who to contact instead of simply pulling information from the notoriously dysfunctional and outdated government websites.

If your first report goes unheeded, the platform will also show you how to escalate the matter to the right person.

“Based on where you are… we can give you the contact details of your local councillor. Your local councillor is there to actually represent you,” said Japhet.

If you want to take it another step, Fixlocal offers resources on how to set up community groups and policing forums, and how to write a media release, allowing residents to get their voices heard.

As a final resort, Fixlocal will show you how to fix something yourself if no one from government shows up.

“We’re not adversarial, we’re apolitical. This is about trying to get our communities and our country to work,” said Japhet.

Fixlocal isn’t intended solely for road issues, as you can also highlight grievances over waste management, electricity outages, water leaks, overgrown grass, and more.

The platform is currently available in 18 municipalities across the country, comprising all major centres like Cape Town, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, Gqeberha, Johannesburg, Polokwane, and Tshwane.

Other regions are also included, such as Bethal, Buffalo City, George, Kimberley, Mangaung, Mbombela, Mogale City, Msunduzi, Newcastle, Rustenburg, and Soweto.

Fixlocal is also collaborating with the South African Local Government Association on key issues.

“Reporting a pothole in Joburg versus in Polokwane is different, so for every municipality, we’ve got the exact right way to report either a sinkhole, a broken traffic light, etcetera,” said Japhet.

Fixlocal can be accessed online or via WhatsApp, and an app is on the way soon.

While it’s currently working with municipalities, Japhet said that the end goal is to get down to a neighbourhood level.

Pothole repairs leaving much to be desired

Potholes have once again come into the limelight in South Africa in recent times as much of the country’s roads reach the end of their 20-year design life.

While efforts are being made to end the scourge, the work that is being done leaves much to be desired.

The Automobile Association (AA) contends that potholes continue to reappear on South African roads as municipalities use sub-par materials when repairing the hazards.

Additionally, there’s a lack of urgency within government to address the issue, causing the buildup of massive repair backlogs.

It’s estimated that the country’s roads are littered with as many as 25 million potholes, with around 67% of these appearing within the last five years.

Authorities have pointed the finger at rain and increased traffic levels as the reasons for these “inconveniences”, but the AA is not convinced.

“[Municipalities] are not using the material they should be using; strong enough material to withhold the traffic volumes, to withhold the adverse weather conditions,” said AA spokesperson Eleanor Mavimbela.

“Then they allude to a lack of budget when they’re asked to account for the number of potholes we unfortunately have to deal with on a daily basis.”

The AA argues that road infrastructure maintenance should get the same levels of priority and budget as things such as healthcare due to the enormous cost of potholes and other hazards on the economy.

“We have seen the adverse consequences of not dealing with potholes within our communities,” said Mavimbela.

“Potholes in recent years have been diverted as just an inconvenience, but it’s not an inconvenience; potholes have the potential to damage your tyres, your rims and suspension, as well as the body of the vehicle.”

The AA urges motorists to report potholes when they appear so that municipalities can keep track of the hotspots and the number of potholes that must still be tended to.

“We urge residents to call in and let authorities know when there’s a pothole around where you live, where you commute, so that they can be able to have an updated number of where potholes are and be able to react speedily,” said Mavimbela.