Operation Vala Zonke was established with the sole purpose of getting the state of roads in the country back to its former glory. According to the spokesperson of the Provincial Department of Police, Roads, and Transport, Hillary Mophethe, the roads that have been repaired are mostly in the Fezile Dabi district - as the launch was held in that district. At the moment, Mophethe states that there is very little to report in other districts in the province.

ALSO READ: Millions spent on Free State roads

So far, only one road has been 100% completed, which is the R57 between Sasolburg and Vaalbank – it was a stretch of 13km and it took 8 days to be completed. Another road that is at 32% completion, is the R59 between Sasolburg and Vredefort – it is 56km long. The R501 between Viljoenskroon and Potchefstroom is another road where the reconstruction process has begun and at the moment it is 2.5% completed. It is 35km in length and it is estimated to be finished by the end of September 2022. The above-mentioned roads are under the departmental team’s responsibility. Only the R76 from Viljoenskroon to Orkney – which is yet to be completed - is the Down Touch Investments’ responsibility. At this moment, it is 20% completed. It is also 35km long.

ALSO READ: Free State government commits to eradicate potholes

The Free State premier, Sisi Ntombela, has said they are committed to making the province pothole-free within the next six months (from August). The launch of the operation in the province saw Ntombela and the provincial MEC for Police, Roads, and Transport William Bulwane’s respective teams repairing potholes on the R501 road between Viljoenskoon and Potchefstroom on Sunday, as well as on the R59 road between Sasolburg to Vanderbijlpark. 

To help achieve the goal of a pothole-free province, an app has been created by the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL), whereby people will be able to upload pictures of potholes for an alert to be captured and logged on the system so that it can be repaired.

ALSO READ: Millions earmarked for road users’ claims

A few months ago, the Free State Provincial Department of Police, Roads, and Transport received claims amounting to over R78 million. Those claims were at the time yet to be paid to road users in the province. In a response to a written question by the Democratic Alliance (DA) member of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), George Michalakis, it is stated that at least R1.8 million out of the R78 million has been paid. The claims are for damages to motorists’ vehicles due to the condition of roads in the province. This follows after the department made it known to the public that they can claim for damage to their vehicles caused by potholes.

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