Rustenburg – Katlego Khoza of Lethabong, just outside Rustenburg in the North West, is risking his life filling potholes with sand on the busy D1332 road.
Khoza, armed with a spade and a bucket, dodges cars as he fills the potholes with sand, in the hope that motorists will hand him a few coins for his efforts.
"It is a risky job, I have to look over my shoulders while working. It is not safe at all, I cannot be flat-footed," he said, moving over to another lane as a truck sped by.
"Trucks and cars drive at high speed on these pothole-ridden roads, exposing me to danger. If they lose control, even when I am on the side of the road, there is a risk of them knocking me," he said.
Khoza takes home between R60 and R200 from the money motorists toss at him as appreciation.
"They appreciate what I am doing and this helps me buy food, because I am not employed.
“I have worked at this point (at the entrance to Lethabong) and another one 2km down the road. That spot 2km away is bad. It has ankle-deep potholes."
The D1332 road is the only road linking Lethabong and Rustenburg. It joins the R510 road at a circle in Kanana.
The 24km stretch to Lethabong has been a killer road due to the potholes, which have led to numerous fatal accidents.
In Moordkop, about 10km to Lethabong, there are two road signs, the first requests motorists to drive at 60km/h and the second warns about potholes.
The first huge pothole is situated about 3km from Moordkop near to the Bethanie gravel road intersection. The second lot are about 2km down the road near the bridge.
This is where two cars collided head-on on in February after the driver of a BMW allegedly hit a Chev Spark while avoiding a pothole.
He lost control of his car and moved onto the oncoming traffic, colliding with the Spark. The driver of the Spark died five days later in hospital.
Motorists said the potholes have cost them a lot.
"These potholes are causing inconvenience. I had to buy two new tyres after hitting these potholes. We are talking about R1500 that I did not budget for, at the same time I have to repair damaged mags at additional cost," said a driver identifying himself as Mike.
Local taxi drivers said at one stage they wanted to fill the potholes with cement but were hesitant due to the risk involved.
"Who will be accountable should the cement crack and damage cars, the taxis will be accused of causing the damage. We are waiting for the government to address this pothole situation. If they fail then we will use cement to close the potholes," said one taxi driver.
In July, the Pothole Patrol, a partnership between the City of Joburg, Discovery Insure and Dial Direct Insurance said it would repair numerous potholes along the 75km stretch of the R556 leading to Sun City from the N4 in Majakaneng.
The R556 is the shortest route to the Sun City resort, motorists have long expressed concern about the number of potholes they’ve had to dodge .
North West Public Works and Roads MEC Gaoage Oageng Molapisi said the province was grateful for the patching of potholes on the R566.
"Good roads attract business to an area. Gauteng is a very important market source for our province, but travellers want to know that they can reach their destination safely. Similarly, conference and event organisers are disinclined to plan workshops and conferences at venues with poor road infrastructure. The province is therefore extremely thankful for the work carried out," Molapisi said at the launch of the project.
The provincial department of works has since launch programmes on patching of potholes. The Rustenburg local municipality has a pothole refilling programme.
IOL