As part of Transport Month operations, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube is expected to unveil 55 trucks that will improve pothole repair across the province.
Under the banner of S'thesha Waya Waya, the trucks will help to improve turnaround time on pothole patching and will be distributed to all district offices under the Department of Transport.
IFP chief whip, Blessed Gwala, said road infrastructure must be prioritised during Transport Month.
He said focus must be on addressing the road infrastructure backlog. Gwala said the DoT budget increased to R13 billion for the 2023/24 financial year so it was perplexing that so many roads were in such a bad state.
"Many roads are in a bad state despite the Department being allocated R780 million to build roads that were flooded during 2019/20, and in 2022," Gwala said.
He added that there are still issues around dilapidated bridges, bad roads and bridges and roads in need to rehabilitation.
Partner at DSC Attorneys, Kirstie Haslam, said the deteriorating condition of roads across the country is a growing cause of road accidents.
Haslam added that as the number of potholes on South African roads has risen, so has the number of pothole-related accident claims.
Recently, Dialdirect noted a 15% increase in pothole-related accident claims and a 9% increase in tyre damage claims that are as a direct result of a pothole. In 76% of these claims, the pothole damage was so severe, it rendered the car undriveable.
In South Africa, the majority of pothole-related claims come from the cities of Pietermaritzburg (21%), Pretoria (20%), Potchefstroom (17%), Bloemfontein (15%), Johannesburg (14%) and Durban (13%). Most of these pothole-related claims are logged from incidents that occurred during off-peak traffic times when motorists tend to drive a bit faster.
IOL