MEDIA RELEASE

TRANSPORT MINISTER ASSESSES POTCHEFSTROOM STATE OF ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy and SANRAL’s North West Provincial Head, Mirriam Ramoba, did not hesitate to try their hand at pothole patching

Potchefstroom, 20 August 2025 – Transport Minister Barbara Creecy, accompanied by the North West MEC for Roads and Public Works, Ms Elizabeth Mokua, as well as representatives from Dr. Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality and the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL), recently visited the Ikakeng community of Potchefstroom to assess the state of road infrastructure in that town.

Addressing community members of Sarafina Street in Ikakeng, Minister Creecy acknowledged the dire need to fix potholes.

Minister Creecy said: “Today’s visit is an important one because we are heeding President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call to fix problems in municipalities. President Ramaphosa has asked us, as all spheres of government, to hold hands and support each other in improving the state of our roads in our municipalities. In Sarafina Street alone, we are fixing between 100 and 150 potholes that we have found here. The 3km long Sarafina Street starts at the N12 national road intersection. The N12 is owned and managed by SANRAL”.

Minister Creecy also commended SANRAL for its ongoing work in other parts of the North West Province. “SANRAL has taken over 360km of roads in the province, and we are now busy fixing those roads. These roads connect communities to government services and the CBD, as well as other local amenities. We are also in discussions with the province to consider taking over another 121km of roads. In Potchefstroom itself, we have ongoing maintenance on major roads such as the N12, R54, R53, R500, as well as the R501 national roads,” said Creecy.

To address the pothole challenge in South Africa, the Department of Transport launched a national campaign to fix potholes. The campaign titled ‘Vala Zonke – Fixing Potholes Together’ – was launched in August 2022. (SANRAL) was appointed as the coordinating agency to drive the campaign, which included the harmonisation of all data and information on potholes and providing the technology and technical knowledge to ensure quality delivery on the campaign.

SANRAL also launched a ‘Pothole App’ for the public to be able to report potholes easily. The Pothole App allows for the user to take a picture of the pothole, while the system automatically records the GPS location, eventually sending the information to the relevant authority, depending on the location.

Echoing Minister Creecy’s sentiments, the North West MEC for Public Works and Roads, Elizabeth Mokua, said the North West Provincial Government supports the Vala Zonke programme, particularly because it has provided job opportunities for local communities.

“As the province, we are in the process of buying yellow fleet vehicles. Working together with national government and SANRAL, we will deliver services to our communities and provide job opportunities through this yellow fleet,” said Mokua.

SANRAL’s Provincial Head for North West Province, Mirriam Ramoba, agreed. “We understand that the problem is bigger than we initially anticipated. But, working together, national government, SANRAL, provinces and municipalities will continue with the Vala Zonke campaign, fixing potholes one road at a time,” she added.

-ENDS-